Worlds Apart
by MusicChiller27
Summary: Dean Ambrose/OC AU - Everyone thought she did it. Everyone thought she pulled the trigger and ended her ex-fiance's life. They all thought she was nothing more than a murderous harlot. Including her ex-fiance's two best friends, who decide to take matters into their own hands to pry the truth out of her. Only, discovering the truth splits their worlds apart.
1. Chapter 1

**Worlds Apart**

Chapter 1

The handcuffs around her wrists felt like huge weights attached to them and had for the past 6 months. It was pure hell on earth. Being locked away from the outside world, unable to smell fresh air besides being outside for 15 minutes out of the day. The bright orange jumpsuit she had to wear was degrading, her honey blonde hair currently hanging down her back over the huge black letters that had her number printed on it. A number; that's all Emery would ever be unless she found a way out of this mess caused by her now deceased ex-fiancé. The thought of him made her heart clench tightly in her chest in both anger and sadness. She was sad he was dead and gone from the world, but angry due to the fact someone was pinning his death on her.

She had been restricted to solitary holding cells and now a private room with bars over the otherwise bare windows. In mere moments, she would be out in that courtroom, exposed to the family and friends of her now dead ex-fiancé, Colby Lopez. Exposed to the general public, the reporters. This case had been dragged out for a while now, while the prosecutor and defense attorneys went back and forth, trying to find something, or nothing, within the evidence that had been presented. Emery wasn't alone; her lawyer was reviewing last minute things, sorting out the closing speech and trying to ignore the guards manning the doors while talking quietly to themselves, though their eyes never left the prisoner.

Born and raised in Moline, Illinois by the Mississippi River, Emery Colfax had a relatively normal childhood. Her father, Marshall, worked at a factory making a little better than minimum wage and her mother, Sally, stayed home with the children. It was enough income to keep a roof over the family's head and food in their mouth. Emery was the middle child and often thought of as the black sheep of the family. Somewhat rebellious, but nothing too extreme. Her older brother, Trey, was 3 years older and treated her badly, always getting her into trouble in order to prevent punishment. Sometimes their parents saw through his antics, but 9 times out of 10 they believed anything Trey said and punished Emery for actions she didn't do. It wasn't until Trey left home to pursue an education in Carbondale, Illinois at SIU that they started getting along.

Gisela was the baby of the family and only a year and some odd months younger than Emery. They had a lot of the same friends throughout school and got along for the most part, unlike her and Trey. Truthfully, Gisela despised Trey as much as Emery, so the sisters would often play pranks on him as a means of revenge. Because of Gisela's uncanny ability to surpass the educational system, she was put in the same grade as Emery, making them share a lot of classes together and whatnot. High school changed their relationship and sisterhood because Gisela wanted to focus solely on schooling instead of going to parties and enjoying her adolescence. She begged Emery to join her, but being the black sheep made the middle child drift away into the world of drugs, underage drinking and sex. Luckily, her parents never found out about what she did. Her ex-best friend, Carla, at the time was a bad influence and, thankfully, Emery was smart enough to escape before she was expelled out of high school or put in jail.

Somehow, Emery graduated with high honors and received a 2 year scholarship to any college of her choosing. Wanting to stick around home since she already had a job at Best Buy and made fairly decent money, Emery opted to go to a junior college for a degree in medical coding. It required a minimum of 2 years, which would give her an Associate's degree, enough to get her a better paying job doing coding for a healthcare establishment. Emery focused on schooling for the most part instead of dating, not wanting to get attached to anyone in case she had to leave state to continue her education. The only friend she had was Annalise, who she met at the Junior college and they hit it off instantly. Annalise's major was journalism, wanting to report the evening news throughout the Quad Cities one day a dream of hers. They pushed each other to succeed, studying together at the library and Annalise kept Emery grounded. She was going for her Associate's degree as well for journalism.

They thought they would be friends for a long time, but that was until Colby Lopez came into Emery's life.

The day Emery met Colby was one she wished never happened. Her life had been turned upside down from the moment they laid eyes on each other. At first, it was simple; he was sweet with flowers and candy - the works. He even bought her favorite perfume for one of their dates. Emery thought she had met her soul mate, someone to share her life with. Annalise didn't like Colby from the moment they were introduced. For some reason, she felt a bad vibe from him and made it known to Emery. Because the woman thought the sun shined out of Colby's backside, she sided with Colby and their friendship became strained. Annalise would never turn her back on Emery, but she did not support Emery and Colby's relationship.

A lot of Emery's time was spent in Davenport, Iowa, which was just across the Mississippi River from Moline. She never missed any of her schooling, leaving earlier every day she had class, but for the most part she stayed with Colby. He worked at a nearby construction company, laying concrete and grunt work. It was decent money he made, enough to allow Colby to have his own place while Emery was stuck living at home with her parents. They also didn't like Colby, sensing something off about him and Emery was blinded by the truth right in front of her. Without realizing it, she alienated her family and chose him over her blood, all because she was deeply in love with him and thought he could do no wrong.

It was a miracle she was able to finish college enough to acquire an Associate's degree before quitting instead of going for her Bachelor's.

2 years into their relationship, Colby popped the question on Valentine's Day, of all days, and Emery was stupid enough to accept the proposal. It was so beautiful and thoughtful, Emery never thought Colby would turn into the monster he would turn into. He took her to the Davenport Skybridge that overlooked most of the city and turned colors at night. It was where they first met; she'd done research on it and wanted to see what it was about. Annalise had gone with her because she knew Davenport fairly well, living there a bit before moving across the river to Moline. The same night as the proposal, Colby asked her to move in with him and, once again, Emery accepted. There was no point being engaged and planning a wedding if they weren't living together, after all. Colby's logic made sense at the time and Emery was willing to do anything to make him happy.

Less than a month after moving in, something in Colby changed, which still puzzled Emery to this day. First, he demanded her to stay home while he was at work and have supper on the table every night. He wanted to be the breadwinner and bring home the money, not wanting his soon-to-be to be out in the working world. When Emery argued against it, he began slapping her around, blaming his work for igniting his temper. All he wanted her to do was keep the house spotless and make him dinner that wasn't burnt. Emery wasn't the best cook in the world and she kept the house clean, but any speck of dust he found made him beat her up. At least that was his brilliant logic. Emery put up with it for another 2 years, refusing to marry Colby before she found a way out of the relationship and took it, not looking back.

Only Colby followed her, stalked her for months and made her life miserable – a living breathing nightmare. 6 months ago he was found dead in the back of her apartment building, facedown with bullets embedded in his body. The worst part was Colby's corpse had turned up missing and, once again, the blame all came back to Emery. All the evidence found pointed to her, at least on paper, where it was convincing and, in theory, should have been enough to lock her away for the rest of her life. As far as general public opinion went, she was guilty. She could have been the next Jodi Arias for all they cared, minus the sexual aspects. However, in reality, while the evidence did strongly suggest it had been her who murdered Colby Lopez, the evidence was also circumstantial.

What was there just wasn't enough.

Her only friend in the world, or so it seemed, Annalise, was the one to ultimately get her away from Colby Lopez, at least out of his house. Colby had to go out of town on business, something he rarely did because he liked keeping a close eye on Emery. She had tried leaving him a few times and it made him paranoid to the point where he made her quit her job. Threatening to kill her family that lived across the Mississippi River in Moline was definitely a switch Colby used to make Emery do whatever he wanted. He always said he'd have her dead or alive, but nobody else would claim his property. However, Colby did not know about Annalise and she lived in the same town they did, but kept her distance while finding a way to get Emery away from him. When the moment presented itself, Annalise didn't hesitate. Together, the women flew to Tampa, Florida from Davenport, Iowa to start their new lives. Just to make sure Colby never found her, Emery changed her last name with Annalise's help and cut ties with her family, as much as it pained her. He didn't find her for 3 years, but thanks to several private investigators, her luck ran out and the stalking began.

Annalise was there. Throughout the entire situation, she had done what she could to help Emery. There was no doubt in her mind Emery did not kill Colby Lopez, even if she had dreamt about it. She didn't do it. Emery was too good of a person and, the fact that piece of abusive crazy dick, even in death, was still managing to mess up Emery's life, angered Annalise immensely. She prayed to whatever gods there were that Colby Lopez was in some version of hell, being tortured with fiery pitchforks up the backside. She had, obviously, been a key character witness for Emery and able to provide what insight she had into Emery and Colby's relationship, as well as Colby's character. The things he had done she knew about, such as stalking and all the abuse her best friend suffered through. She wasn't sure if that would help or hurt Emery though because all it did provide motivation to murder the douchebag.

Mentioning the abuse and everything Colby did to her would only make Emery look guiltier, so the lawyer highly suggested against bringing up the past. The man was dead, after all. Not like he could pay for what he did to her anyway. Emery agreed with her lawyer, John Layfield, and she begged Annalise not to say anything when put on the stand. Annalise hadn't and the jury seemed to believe the incredible things her friend had to say. Of course, Annalise was also biased because they were roommates, so they didn't question her a lot throughout the trial. Annalise visited Emery once a week, bringing her little things from the outside world she could appreciate and wasn't illegal to bring inside. They both had the same question: Who would frame Emery for Colby's murder and want to ruin her life?

Obviously, Colby himself came to mind, but Colby was dead. As abusive and slimy as he was, Annalise had a hard time believing he had a mistress on the side. Not when he had tried his hardest to be as far up Emery's backside as possible. Colby's body disappearing was another mystery, one nobody had any clue about. It had been there long enough for photos and basic exams to be taken, but then... it was gone. Cameras had shown nothing; logbooks had been triple checked and it was mindboggling to say the least. The stalking affected not only Emery's life, but also Annalise's since they lived together. Paying bills became a hassle because Emery had to quit several jobs just to stop Colby from coming to her work.

Annalise finally ordered her to stay home at the apartment and she would cover the bills, wanting her best friend to stay safe. Emery felt like a freeloader and left the safety of the apartment to go to a local women's center to talk to someone about her situation. Of course, Emery did it under a false identity and they told her to turn him into the police. Emery didn't listen and went back to the apartment, feeling completely vulnerable to Colby Lopez. There was no escape from him. Emery ended up crying herself to sleep that night and didn't wake up until the following morning, not hearing the gunshots outside of the apartment or the squealing tires from Colby's attacker. Her alibi had been she slept for nearly 15 hours straight and the jury refused to believe that along with the police. They were certain she killed Colby Lopez, even though Annalise assured everyone her best friend would never harm a fly.

Colby wasn't the victim, Emery was.

While she had been called on as a character witness and her testimony limited because Layfield didn't want any more ammunition against Emery, what she did have to say was considered bias by the jury. Layfield walked her through everything, told her how to frame her words and in what tone, also warning how the prosecutor would come at her personally. It had been a mess, but Annalise hoped it would be enough to keep Emery out of prison. Along with the circumstantial evidence and the fact nobody could prove Emery's sleeping alibi as a lie... at this point, everything rested in the hands of the jury.

So far, there'd been 4 trials to determine if she was innocent or not. The jury was split down the middle on what to do and therefore the judge kept having to continue the sentencing. Today was hopefully the day. Emery longed to feel the air on her face and sense of freedom, tears stinging her deep aqua eyes at the thought of going home. Her head snapped up when the metal door swung open to the room she currently sat in and Emery stared back at her lawyer walking inside with hopefully good news.

And not another continuance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hello Mr. Layfield." Emery greeted softly, not moving to stand up and rested her cuffed wrists on the table while he took a seat in front of her. She lost track how long she'd been in this confined room since time all blurred together being locked up.

"Emery."

John managed a smile at her, really hoping today would be the day his client was set free. At first, when he had taken on this case, he had done it because he knew something like this could boost his career. This was a difficult case, especially when there was, in theory, so much against her. If they could pull out this win somehow, he would be in-demand. Now, he genuinely liked Emery and believed she was innocent. The woman had been terrified of her ex-boyfriend, but not enough to take his life. He highly doubted Emery could take anyone's life, not even in self-defense.

"You ready for this, honey?" He asked quietly in a thick southern accent, eyes on his nervous client sitting across from him.

"Is the trial happening today or not?" Emery knew better than to look away from her lawyer because John Layfield had done everything in his power to help her out of this mess.

"Yes. They'll be taking you to the courthouse in a few minutes to hold you there until the verdict is announced. It'll be all over today. I think this time, we've done it." John stated confidently, reaching across the table to grab her hand and squeezed gently. "We've pulled this together, Emery, and the jury will see you're innocent. They'll make the right decision, just gotta keep the faith."

All of her faith and hope drained away little by little over the past 6 months. At this point, Emery was convinced she was going to prison. They would sentence her to life in prison for killing her psychotic ex-fiancé, who stalked her for months on end prior to his death. She was glad he was gone and sometimes wished she'd been the one to pull the trigger. For some odd reason, that night was a complete blur to Emery and she couldn't figure out why. Sleeping 15 hours wasn't like her at all, even Annalise admitted that. Hell, she disclosed it openly to the judge at one of her trials. It wasn't logical and, at this point, all evidence pointed to Emery being guilty of killing Colby. But she hadn't and now an innocent woman would be sent up the river for someone else's crime.

"What if they don't, Mr. Layfield?" She asked in a quivering voice, lowering her eyes from her lawyer's to look at the cuffs surrounding her wrists, a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

"You listen to me, Emery," John ordered kindly, procuring a handkerchief out of his lapel. It was silk and mostly meant for looks, but she needed it more than his suit did. Even with her head down, he could see the tears and carefully wiped them from her face. "This is only to determine if you're guilty and, if by some reason they do, there's time between now and the sentencing to appeal. We'll keep appealing until they see reason."

If that didn't work, maybe – just maybe he could work out some sort of deal with the opposing attorney. If by chance Emery was found guilty, it wouldn't be a clean verdict and everyone here knew it. The prosecutor would come out looking like a jackass, cutting some sort of deal for a shorter sentence or something to save him some face.

"Don't you give up on me yet, girl. I haven't given up on you."

"I'm innocent. Your client sitting right here in front of you, crying her eyes out is innocent. And they don't believe me. Nobody does. I know I can't remember what happened the night Colby was killed. My only alibi is sleeping and I know that sounds lame, but it's the truth. I would never kill him. He put my life through hell for years, but I would never commit murder. I don't even own a gun much less shot one before." Emery kept her voice low and discreet while speaking, slowly looking up at Layfield with each word that came out of her mouth. He reached across the table to take both of her hands and Emery tried drying her tears up to the best of her ability. "I just wish the jury would believe me…"

"Emery, I'm trying my best, honey, and I believe you're innocent. Today we get to present our closing statements. You get up when the judge asks you if you wanna say anything and you tell these people that you're innocent. Make them believe."

He would do his best as well. Her alibi wasn't great, but neither was the evidence against her and Layfield planned on driving that point home. There were no clean-cut ties proving Emery did this. John had every intention of guilt tripping the jury with the fact that, if she were found guilty, she was being put into prison based on circumstantial evidence and nothing more. Emery was starting to crack under pressure and it showed, her nerves completely shot from being locked up as long as she had been. Being the only suspect in a murder was definitely not something Emery ever thought she would experience in life. Giving up now wouldn't do her any favors. She just had to get up in front of the judge and jury, ignore the crowd that would be there along with the press from various newspapers and speak the truth on how she felt. Show how angry she was for being accused of a crime she did not commit.

"Alright, I'll do the best I can, Mr. Layfield. Thank you for everything you've done for me and not giving up."

"Like I told you, Emery, I'm not giving up and I'll be damned if you do too."

John silently vowed, if she was found innocent, he would see to it she started her life over somewhere away from this place. Lord knew this poor woman would be hounded. The guard stepped into the room and ordered Layfield to leave so they could transport the perpetrator to the courthouse. Emery had done this 4 other times, so she was used to the protocol.

"See you over there and keep your head up." John murmured, squeezing Emery's shoulder and reluctantly left the room, heading to the courthouse for the trial that would hopefully sent his career skyrocketing and grant Emery her overdue freedom.

* * *

Arriving at the courthouse, Emery kept her head down while reporters shouted questions at her and cameras flashed, not wanting to be blinded. She was lead to a private room adjacent to the judge's chambers, knowing until the trial began, she had to stay hidden. It seemed to take forever, but eventually the door opened and several police officers escorted her out into the courtroom. Aqua eyes instantly noticed Annalise sitting behind Mr. Layfield and Emery cracked the barest hint of a smile to let her know she was still somewhat sane. Annalise breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her best friend, her heart breaking at the cuffs surrounding Emery's wrists and ankles, making it difficult for her to walk. The judge would be out soon to start the trial, but in the meantime they had to sit and wait. John noticed Emery looked a little green around the gills and patted her back.

"ALL RISE FOR HONORABLE JUDGE STEVENS!"

John stood up, reaching out to help her as the cuffs tended to make a person slightly unbalanced. "Head up." He whispered, knowing she could not afford to look guilty, not this close to the end.

Before she knew it, the judge took his seat and the trial officially began. "Emery Rose Colfax, you've been charged with First Degree murder on Colby Lopez. How do you plead?" Judge Stevens asked for the 5th time, folding his hands on top of his perch.

"Not guilty, your Honor." She answered without hesitation, feeling her mouth go dry.

"Before the jury reveals their verdict, are there any last words you want to say?"

This was it. Do or die. "Yes." Emery slowly turned to face the jury since her ankles, keeping her arms at her sides. "For the past 6 months, I've dealt with a lot and learned just how strong of a person I am and can be. I've nearly given up hope of ever gaining my freedom, not because I'm not guilty, but because nobody seems to believe me. Yes, I know I've made mistakes and I wish I never met Colby Lopez. I wish I would've walked away from him the day we met because then I wouldn't be standing in front of you pleading for my life, freedom and sanity. You all need to know one thing about me. I'm innocent. If you convict me, you are convicting an innocent woman and making a mistake. I could and would never hurt anyone, no matter what. I'm not capable of it. Thank you for listening." She walked back over to sit beside Layfield and felt him squeeze her hand beneath the table, not realizing she'd been crying until she reached up with her free hand to wipe them away. "Shit."

From her seat in one of the benches in the back, Annalise crossed her fingers and bowed her head. If there was a time to pray, now would be it and she was not above asking for help when it was called for. John slipped her his handkerchief, wanting Emery to wipe away her tears. He cleared his throat as the jury foreman stood up, bracing himself for the verdict announcement.

"On charges of First Degree murder, we the jury, find the defendant, Emery Rose Colfax, NOT guilty."

"Praise Jesus..."

Emery wasn't sure she heard the jury correctly until Annalise clobbered her with a huge hug, the cuffs removed from her ankles instantly. "Oh my god." She whispered, immediately hugging Mr. Layfield tightly and cried tears of joy, not believing the jury finally swayed to her side.

Colby Lopez was dead and gone, never to harm another living soul again. She didn't pay attention to two livid people leaving the courthouse, too busy celebrating with her best friend and lawyer. Emery even turned to the judge and bowed to him with her hands clasped, mouthing 'thank you' with fresh tears. Walking out of the courthouse, Emery Colfax was a free woman after 6 long months of speculation and slipped into her friend's car, driving away with the papers in hand.

* * *

Livid wasn't the word Jonathan Good and Joseph Anoa'i would have used in this situation. For just over 6 months, they lived in what was something like limbo. Their best friend was dead and it had taken this long for a jury to determine the woman who had done it wasn't guilty? Something didn't add up. All the evidence pointed her way. Hell, even the woman's friend, with her limited testimony, hadn't done that great of a job of making Emery Colfax look innocent.

"This is bullshit, bro." Jon growled, leaning against the outside wall of the courthouse, watching with narrowed eyes as John Layfield took the reporter's questions after Colfax and Annalise Davis disappeared. "She killed Colby... and walked." He took a long drag from his cigarette, icy pale blues narrowing to slits.

"Agreed."

Joe didn't buy the jury's sentencing either, but he had to admit one thing. The evidence pointed at Emery was all circumstantial and he knew that's what made the huge difference. So many criminals had walked because of circumstantial evidence, so Emery Colfax wasn't any different. He sighed heavily, not a smoker and leaned against the railing outside of the courthouse with his friend. The moment they both received the call Colby had been killed was a moment in his life Joe would never forget. They had lost not only a best friend, but a brother that night and no justice was handed out. None. Zero. The ONLY person who could've possibly done it, that had motives, was Colby's ex-fiancée and she had walked freely because of circumstantial evidence. She did it; her alibi wasn't strong and she couldn't 'remember' what she did the night Colby was gunned down.

"What do you wanna do, bro?"

Jon took another drag from his cigarette before letting it fall to the pavement, stubbing it out with the toe of his boot and smiled. Smoke curled out of his curved mouth before he exhaled through his nose. "I want to go play Batman and you can be my Robin."

"I get the reference, but I ain't nobody's Robin." Joe shook his head, eyeballing the lawyer in disgust. That man had probably sold his soul, helping murderers walk free. "When?"

"Well, we need to find out a little more about Emery Colfax." A name he would not soon be forgetting, if ever. "And then, see if we can't jog her memory."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Annalise brushed Emery's hair after she took a well-deserved long shower, sitting on her friend's comfortable bed in a robe while Emery had hers on. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too." Emery murmured softly, not knowing how to answer Annalise's question.

How did she feel? Relieved, but also…restless. Whoever murdered Colby was still out there and what if she was next? What if pinning Colby's murder on her was a plan of the real assassin and they came for her? Emery swallowed hard at the possibility of having a bigger target on her back than before, wondering if she'd ever be able to live a normal life again.

"Just because I was proclaimed innocent doesn't mean I am, Annalise. I mean I know I'm innocent, but everyone else doesn't and…I want my name cleared completely."

Annalise nodded in understanding and still sighed, focusing on the knots in Emery's hair. "We know you're innocent Em, but if I were you, I would give it a few days. This case, this trial, has been treated like a circus and some people might try to target you just because they can. Let things settle a bit, just to be safe, please?"

She had just gotten her best friend back, after a nerve-racking heart shattering 6 months. Emery was finally home and she knew she was probably going to be overprotective. However, she wanted a few days knowing Emery was safe and here with her. Then they could figure out who the hell really did this and clear Emery's name, if possible.

"Agreed. I feel like I haven't slept in 6 months." Emery cracked the smallest smile and looked over her shoulder at Annalise, covering the hand resting on her shoulder. "Thank you for not giving up and standing by me. You're the only one who believes I didn't do it, besides Layfield and that means everything. I don't know how to thank you except to just say…thank you." Turning fully, Emery wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend's neck, holding her close while tears slid down her cheeks. "I-I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there for me, keeping me sane and from giving up."

Smiling, Annalise wrapped her arms around Emery, closing her eyes. She stroked Emery's back soothingly, still smiling when Emery finally pulled away and reached over to procure her box of tissues off the bedside stand. She had been keeping these in stock throughout the past 6 months, having cried more times than she could count as this farce, this circus drama, played out.

"Sweetheart, I never gave up on you and I never will. Here." She wiped at Emery's face, before letting her take over. "There are more people who believed you then you realize."

"I know he didn't either. I owe him so much for helping me through this and bringing me home."

Perhaps, not enough, but the entire city didn't think Emery was a murderer and it was important she knew and believed that. Emery had to do something for Mr. Layfield, but couldn't think of anything, deciding to sleep on it. Annalise bid her goodnight, leaving her door cracked open in case Emery needed something. They were more than best friends – sisters was a better term. Their friendship was timeless, never-ending and tight as a knot – unbreakable. Lying in bed, Emery stared up at the ceiling, just enjoying the comfort of her bed for the first time in half a year. She fell asleep with a soft smile on her face, chest rising and falling evenly, curled on her side clutching her favorite pillow.

With no Colby and murder trial breathing down her neck, Emery could finally rest easy…or so she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Finding information on Emery Colfax was easy as hell; it was ridiculous. Given her new infamous celebrity status as the city's resident murderess, who had walked free no less, Jon wasn't overly surprised. Over the last 6 months, he and Joe had collected every newspaper article about the case and her. Now - now they were collecting stuff that was off-the-record. If getting justice for Colby meant soiling their hands, they would. This town was corrupt, obviously; paying off the right people to get their hands on documents not meant for the general public wasn't a problem.

"I can see why she walked."

"Because it looks circumstantial." Joe snorted, rubbing at his tired eyes. "Bullshit. Casey Anthony's was circumstantial and nobody believes she's innocent. Or OJ Simpson for that matter."

"Something like that."

"If we're doing this, we need to act fast before she gets too comfortable…" Joe saw the evil expression cross Jon's face, his thick black brow raising questioningly. "Or maybe that's what you want. You want her to be comfortable in her own skin. For her to feel safe and secure, before we make our move."

Jon had a sadistic side to him, one that was lethal and brutal to those who hurt the ones he loved. Colby was their brother and would never hurt a living soul. This bitch had broken his heart by cheating on him with someone else and then murdered him on top of it when she wanted him back! It was so obvious!

"So how long – a month?"

"We'll play it by ear. Miss Murder isn't going to be able to keep a low profile, not in this hellhole. Let's see how comfortable she gets and then we'll just snatch it from her. Besides, it'll give us a little more time to get things... _situated_."

Such as where they would keep her while obtaining either a proper confession or simply torturing her; Jon hadn't decided on which yet. It felt like the pain of Colby's death was fresh and raw. The piss poor verdict delivered today only tearing open the half-healed scabs instead of healing them. Emery Colfax had no idea what she took away from Jon and Joe the moment she sank bullets into their brother. Jon would stop at nothing to gain vengeance for Colby's death, even if it meant going down with the murderess.

It would indeed be a blaze of glory.

* * *

There was no rest, relaxation or forgetting for Emery.

For the next week, she was hounded by phone calls, every news channel wanting to interview her. Hell, 20/20 had even contacted her offering to fly her out for an interview. They would pay her to tell the story about Colby Lopez and what lead to his death, in her mind, since she didn't do it. Emery turned every single interview down, not wanting to talk about her abusive past with Colby. It was bad enough people thought she was a murderer – a killer. How would it look for her to go on national television and tell her story, to gain publicity for Colby's death and her verdict?

Guilty.

No, Emery would not subject herself to that hypocrisy and wanted to start regaining the pieces of her life she lost over the past 6 months. Annalise had a hard enough time with her gone and Emery promised to do whatever she could to make it up to her best friend and roommate. First thing on her list was finding a job, which wouldn't be easy since she'd lost hers the moment she'd been arrested for the murder of her ex-fiancé. As trivial as it sounded, Emery wasn't angry with the public for their thoughts and feelings on the situation. Yes, Colby had been coming to visit her no doubt the night he was murdered in the back of her apartment while she slept, dead to the world. Hell, if Emery read that alibi in a magazine or newspaper, she surely wouldn't believe it either, but it was the only one she had. Deep down, Emery knew the only reason she was found not guilty was the circumstantial evidence. Nobody could prove, for a fact and 100%, she did it.

It was week 2 in the apartment when Emery received a phone call for a job interview. It was the first company that called her back and there was no way she could miss it. This was her chance to get back into the swing of things and help out Annalise with the piling bills. The paparazzi hadn't let up since the verdict dropped, but Emery had to take the chance leaving the apartment to go to the job interview. It was a mistake stepping out of the apartment because, the moment she had, the paparazzi was on Emery like white on rice. They forced her to run back inside, flipping the deadbolt on the door with her back pressed against the door. They were relentless and Emery felt helpless, wondering if maybe leaving the Tampa Bay area would be the right thing to do after all.

How was she supposed to get back to her life if the media and paparazzi wouldn't leave her alone? Emery didn't know what to do, calling the company to try rescheduling the interview, but the job had already been taken. As if Emery's luck could get any worse, the phone wouldn't stop ringing off the hook. It came to the point where she ripped the phone out of the wall and tossed it in the trash, tears sliding down her cheeks. Annalise wouldn't be happy about it, but if Emery had to hear the ringing of the phone one more time, she would find a loaded gun and blow her brains out. This happened for a straight month before the phone calls started to slowly die down, but the paparazzi hadn't.

"Vultures!" Annalise shouted as she maneuvered herself inside.

Emery had lucked out finally with the telephone tapering off with the interview offers, after it was replaced, but local media hadn't given up so easily. Emery now even had a fan site on the Internet. It was... disturbing. Not only were the paparazzi relentless and watching the apartment like a hawk, hoping for a glimpse of Emery, but across the street park in a black vehicle with tinted windows were anti-fans of hers.

* * *

"That is..."

"Her best friend, Annalise. Probably lovers." Jon snorted, watching from across the street, his eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses.

Joe rolled his eyes, keeping his comments to himself because, at the moment, Jon was probably right.

* * *

"I know, it's ridiculous."

Emery received countless fan and hate mail from everyone across the world. This case had turned into another Casey Anthony trial where everyone in the United States and overseas knew about it. The only difference was Emery was actually innocent and didn't kill anyone.

"Look, if you want me to leave and find another place to stay, I'll understand…" She plopped down on the couch, the curtains drawn to prevent any outside pictures from being taken and put her head in her hands. "I just want it all to stop and go away."

Annalise could only stare at Emery like she had grown another head for a moment and finally shook her own, sighing. "No sweetheart, it's not you. It's them; they all need to go take long walks off of short piers and leave you the hell alone." Honestly, she was rather afraid of the idea of Emery being on her own right now what with these people hounding her constantly. "We should go on a vacation. You need one and I would not mind leaving Tampa behind for a while."

There was no way Annalise could leave her job, not with all the days she'd already taken and requested off to help Emery. A vacation sounded nice and, due to all the financial strain put on Emery throughout the trial, forcing her to lose her job, the Internet started a fund for her. Emery had lost nearly everything because of Colby Lopez's untimely death.

"I'll go to Orlando for a week. I have the money fund and my savings, what's left of it." Emery already paid off Mr. Layfield for his services, not wanting to screw her lawyer over in case she needed him again in the future. Who knew what could happen at this rate? "You need to work and keep this place running. I promise, just give me a week and I'll be back looking for a job and trying to get my life back in order. Maybe then the paparazzi will back off."

Annalise would have found a way to go because she felt like, after all this stress and hell, a week away from it all would be heaven. However, Emery was right. She did need to work because the bills were not going away and her landlord was already riding her ass for housing a criminal. She wasn't about to let that biased old bastard have any reason to kick her out, especially being a model tenant.

"All right, Emery. Go recharge your batteries." Annalise walked into the kitchen to retrieve herself a bottle of water. "You sure you don't want to just get out of Florida all together?"

"No, I don't want to be that far away from you. Orlando is the perfect place and I'm even thinking about dying my hair to try hiding my identity."

She was a honey blonde, so Emery figured going dark brown or even black would be in her best interest. Probably dark brown. She would look hideous with ebony hair because of how pale her skin already was. Then again, beggars couldn't be choosers and Emery would take any color she could get at this rate to shield her from the world.

"I'll make arrangements to leave in the morning. Do you think you can run to the store for me and dye my hair tonight?" It was a lot to ask, but going to a beautician right now wasn't an option.

"I think I could manage that." Annalise commented with a slight smile, eyeballing Emery's hair thoughtfully. "You need a cut, or at least a trim. It's gotten long. Want to do that as well?" She offered, not a professional stylist by any means, but Annalise could do a good job nonetheless. Providing nobody wanted anything ultra-posh, then they were out of luck completely. "Anything else? If I'm going out there again, might want to make it my last trip of the day."

"I'll make you a list. Thanks again, Anna."

* * *

"What the hell is she doing now?" Joe grunted, watching through the binoculars behind some of the paparazzi vehicles as Annalise made her way out of the apartment building. He smirked at her feistiness toward the paparazzi, enjoying every bird she flipped at them along with every cuss word coming out of her mouth. "Shopping it looks like. Should we follow her or wait to see if the murderer makes an appearance?"

"No reason for us both to be bored. Tail Annalise. See what she's buying."

It was a bit out of character for Annalise to leave her house after returning from work. If she would have been anyone else, he wouldn't have blamed her. But since she was probably the lesbian lover of that murdering bitch, Jon wasn't taking any chances. Joe nodded, not about to turn down getting the hell out of this stuffy heat. He could tolerate it, but usually wasn't standing against a brick building, baking for hours on end.

What did murderers do in their downtime, Jon mused, tapping a finger against his jaw thoughtfully.

* * *

While Annalise was gone, Emery began packing a week's worth of clothes and didn't realize she hadn't shut her window. They were on the lower part of the apartment building, so she could make a quick escape out her window if she wanted to. Feeling like someone was watching her, Emery turned her head to look at the window and didn't see anyone, a frown stretching across her face. Was it the paparazzi again? Walking over to the window, Emery looked out of it for a minute to double-check on things and shook her head, turning back to start packing again.

For some reason, the paparazzi had not thought to try coming around to the windows. Of course, there were laws against that kind of thing, not that Jon was overly concerned with being caught. He had spied on Emery this way a few times because she rarely left it opened. It looked like Emery was packing. Not enough to suggest she was moving out, but more than enough to give him the idea she wasn't planning on taking the weekend off. When she came back to the window for a third time, he slipped away, shaking his head.

Good thing she was paranoid.

* * *

"What do you think?" Annalise asked a few hours later, ruffling the dark brown cropped hair of her roommate and best friend.

Emery wanted a new look, she got it and it really fit the shape of her face. Being spun around in the chair, Emery reached up to touch the pixie style and couldn't believe she allowed Annalise to chop so much hair off. She looked barely unrecognizable and that's exactly what she hoped for.

"Wow." Grinning, she stood up from the chair and hugged Annalise tightly, once again fiddling with her now dark brown hair. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I love it. I really do."

"Good, you scared me there for a second."

"I told you to make it different and you certainly did. Never thought I could pull off a pixie cut, but you proved me wrong."

"Are you packed up?"

"Yes, I'm leaving tonight since there's no paparazzi outside, or close to none, late at night."

* * *

"She bought hair dye and what looked like some traveling stuff. You know, those tiny little toiletries kept in hotels." Joe tried to enjoy his meal, but eating it off his lap in Jon's truck was getting old. He would just add this to the list of things that were Emery's fault.

"I seen Miss Colfax packing her bags. Looks like she's either going on vacation or making a run for it outta here." Jon commented, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "And probably with a new look too." He smiled, though there was no humor in it.

"What do you wanna do?"

Jon's pale blues slid over to side-glance his friend and smirked. "What do you think, big man?"

* * *

"Call me when you get there. I mean it." Annalise ordered, walking Emery out to her vehicle and currently stood in the back of it while her friend piled bags into it. "Now give me a hug and get the hell out of here."

"And here I thought you'd miss me." Emery retorted with a smile, shutting the trunk of her car and wrapped her arms tightly around Annalise's neck.

"More than you know." She just got Emery back and now her friend had to leave because everywhere she turned in the Tampa Bay area, she was confronted with the murder trial. "Please call me. If you don't, I'm hunting your ass down and don't think I won't."

"I promise I'll call you." Emery reluctantly pulled back, wiping Annalise's tears away and Annalise did the same to her, both of them not wanting to say goodbye again. "I'll be back in a week or so."

Annalise nodded, grabbing her hands and clasped them tightly against her chest. "You better be. Don't make me worry. Now get going before it gets any later." It was already going on 11 PM.

A few minutes later, Emery was on her way out of the Tampa Bay area headed toward the open road.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jon and Joe had gotten a little bit of sleep, as much as they could anyway. Jon felt... chipper about what was coming up soon. He had hired some punk to keep tabs on Emery, to give him a call or just bang on the window if she moved in the night. So when he had woken up and paid off the little punk, he had been mildly surprised to find she was leaving at night. If there were ever any doubts about her being a murderer, she had just obliterated them. She was sneaking out of town and taking the coward's way out instead of owning up to what she did. As it was, Jon tailed her, keeping her in sight and, once they were on the highway, it was easy to be just another motorist on the road.

"She'll stop eventually."

"Considering the kid you paid off to keep an eye on her siphoned some of her gas - yeah, probably."

This was just too easy, Jon thought, navigating into the rest area, taking note of the few cars and trucks. Mostly, there were parked semis; the truck drivers fast asleep. "What do you think, bro?" He asked, putting the vehicle in park in little ways down from Emery.

"I think we should let her handle business because I'm not about to have her pissing on me." Joe deadpanned, already knowing Jon planned on snatching Emery as soon as she exited the bathroom. "How do you want to do this?"

"I'll grab her, you take her car. I got a gas can all filled up in the truck bed." Jon was already slipping from the cab, dressed from head to toe in black, including gloves on his hands. Maybe if he decided to kill her, he'd ask her professional advice on how to get away with it.

* * *

Emery drove for a couple hours and suddenly looked down when something dinged at her in the car, staring down at the near empty gas gage staring back at her. What the hell? Hadn't Annalise filled up completely before letting her leave? Apparently not. There was a rest stop coming up, but no gas station in sight. Great, what was Emery supposed to do? It was going on 4 AM – her plans to go to Orlando changing. All she wanted to do was drive for a week and stay in motels just to get away from everything and everyone. Pulling into the rest stop, it was still dark outside as Emery parked the car in a space and wondered how she was supposed to get gas. She was 4 hours from Tampa and anyone she knew, having a feeling she wouldn't be able to get to a gas station before running out of gas. Maybe she would have to try. First things first, a bathroom and snack break from the vending machines.

After relieving her screaming bladder from the 3 cups of coffee she sucked down, Emery felt marginally better and figured asking one of the truck drivers for a lift to a gas station wasn't a bad idea. She noticed a few of them parked at the rest stop, probably sleeping, so she would wait until one of them woke up and make a move. In the meantime, she could take a small snooze in the car until then. Turning the faucet on, Emery washed her hands and splashed cool water on her face, taking a deep shaky breath.

Going on the run wasn't the best decision, but what was she supposed to do? The paparazzi and countless phone calls had slowly driven her insane for the past month. It made her cut her beautiful honey blonde long hair off and dye it; two things Emery never thought she was capable of doing in her lifetime. Luckily, the color worked for her and she knew people wouldn't recognize her at first from the countless newspapers and news stations she'd been in. Drying her hands, Emery tossed the paper towel in the garbage, sent a quick text to Annalise letting her know she was alright and headed out, slipping the cell phone in her back jean pocket.

Jon had used the time she was in there to eyeball potential security cameras, noting their range and blind spots. He wasn't a professional criminal by any means, but not stupid either, doing his fair share of shady things in his past. Nothing ever on this level, however, desperate times called for desperate measures and Colby would have his justice one way or another.

"Emery Colfax..." He drawled, stepping right behind her once she had cleared the door and flashed what usually would have been a panty dropping smile in most cases.

A flash of surprise erupted in her aqua eyes before his hand clamped over her mouth, the other moving to drop her with a quick nerve pinch to her neck. Jon caught Emery, not letting her hit the ground, though he was half tempted to let her head bash into the asphalt. He eyeballed her in the poor light, noting she had dyed and cut off a good portion of her hair. Truthfully, Jon wouldn't have recognized her if he hadn't been stalking her for so long.

* * *

The last thing Emery remembered hearing was her name and seeing someone dressed in black covering her mouth before darkness ensued. So waking up hours later in a strange place alarmed her, to say the least. Her neck was sore and Emery slowly sat up in what she assumed was a bed, looking around the dark room. There were no windows – not a huge surprise. She immediately felt for her cell phone in her back jean pocket, not finding it either. What was she supposed to do? Emery swung her legs out to plant on the wooden floor and went to stand up, immediately stopping at the leather cuff around her wrist. It wasn't just leather, also steel and the bed attached to it was also metal.

Unbreakable.

"What the fuck is going on?" She whispered, yanking on it experimentally and groaned when there was absolutely no give. Thankfully, only one of her wrists had been bound to the bed, her feet and other arm free. "HELLO?"

Modern advances and technology had made being a kidnapper so affordable. 10 years ago, a setup like this would have cost a small fortune. Nowadays, buying fairly decent equipment and setting it up was both relatively cheap and easy. Jon had installed a few cameras throughout her little room. Joe did a fine job cementing any holes or vents she might try to wiggle out of; there were no windows and only one way in and out of that room. The lighting wasn't the best, but... it was the audio. Jon rather enjoyed listening to Emery wake up, hearing her moving and continued scrolling through her recent text messages with Annalise, getting an idea of how she 'sounded' when she was texting.

They had to keep up 'appearances' with the best friend and lesbian lover, after all.

"Shall we let her sweat a bit?"

"Sounds good to me."

This was unbelievable!

She just spent 6 months in cuffs and now she was halfway back into them! Emery yanked on the cuff a little more to try loosening it and failed, wincing because the metal cut into her skin. "Damn it!" Plopping down on the bed, Emery scrubbed a hand down her face and started looking around the room, trying to find something, anything, to help her out of this mess. Her stomach rumbled, telling her she was hungry – hell probably starving by now. "Annalise, I swear to god if this is your idea of a sick joke, it's not funny!" Emery shouted, frowning when she heard silence and fell back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. "This is such horseshit."

"I'm so saving this audio to listen to later..."

Jon chuckled, now busy browsing the pictures on the cell. There wasn't all that many on it and he wouldn't be surprised if this was a new one, considering she had done a 6 month stint in the slammer. He spotted a few of Annalise and some of them together, mostly boring girly photos. Snorting, Jon tossed aside the cell and reached for the voice changer, smirking when Joe shook his head and leaned towards the microphone, pressing both buttons at the same time.

"It is very funny, Emery." He sounded like Darth Vader.

Joe was shaking his head, trying not to chuckle.

Emery nearly jumped out of her skin when a Darth Vader sounding voice echoed around the room, aqua eyes wide. Someone was playing games with her. What if it was Colby? No – no it couldn't be, could it? Why was he the first person to pop in her head? If Emery suffered 6 long months in jail for nothing and he was alive this whole time, she would kill him herself! Shutting her eyes, Emery backed up to lean against the iron headboard and drew her knees up to her chest. It was a stance she took up while in jail, wrapping her arms tightly around them. Leaving Tampa was a mistake – one Emery didn't know if she would survive.

"Someone help me please." She whispered to herself, not loud enough for the audio to catch and pressed her forehead to her knees, feeling nauseous.

"You're being boring, Colfax." Jon mocked, watching her out of narrowed eyes, wondering if she was crying.

She had a month of freedom and that time was over. Emery was going to admit her wrongdoings and pay the consequences, no matter what he had to do. The system had failed him, Joe and Colby; it had let this murdering bitch walk free and it was time to right that wrong, one way or another.

"Come on Killer, don't just sit there and bawl. Entertain me."

That made her head snap up instantly. It couldn't be Colby doing this. He was dead and the fact she was called a killer just made the pain in her chest more intense than before.

"I'm not a killer, whoever you are. And if you're one of Colby's mistresses, I had no idea he was cheating on me until I left him. And then he moved to Tampa to stalk me for months before his death. Or maybe this is his killer and, if it is, I guess I owe you both a 'thank you' and a 'fuck you' because of all the hell you've put me through. You did take him out of my life for good and I can't be sad about that. He was a horrible person and all he did was destroy everything he touched. He deserved what he got, but it wasn't from me. I'm innocent."

Joe had to reach over and mute the microphone before Jon exploded, feeling his own temper rising. This... bitch... was spewing lies. They had known about her, obviously, but Colby had doted on Emery. She was his one true love and for her... Joe rubbed his temples, feeling a headache forming in the middle of his skull.

"Calm down, bro." He ordered, grey eyes closed, not needing to see Jon to know he was considering blowing his stack.

Jon took a deep steadying breath, nodding. No point in losing it so early in the game. "Lies, Killer, all lies." He crooned into the microphone after turning it back on, this time using the voice changing software they purchased online, his voice coming out rather... girly this time. "Nobody believes you, Killer. You walked on circumstance and everyone knows it."

"No – NO! I didn't walk on circumstance! I walked because I'm INNOCENT! And I will spend the rest of my life trying to prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am, so people will leave me alone! I didn't kill Colby Lopez! I WISH I'D NEVER MET HIM AFTER EVERYTHING HE PUT ME THROUGH!" Gripping her pixie cut dark hair, Emery couldn't stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks, shaking her head repeatedly. "I-I didn't do it. I swear to god, on my own grave, on my parents' grave, on my best friend's grave, on a stack of bibles, on ANYTHING worthy, I didn't kill him. You're wasting your time grilling me because I didn't shoot him. I don't even own a gun and that was proven."

Whoever this was that kidnapped her, clearly they were on Colby Lopez's side and not hers. And they were trying to force the 'truth' out of her, when it had already been said recurrently. Emery's story never faltered or changed, not once. Her alibi was the ONLY thing she couldn't pinpoint because sleeping for 15 hours straight wasn't realistic to people.

"Do what you will to me, but you have the truth and I have nothing else to say, girl – man – asshole – bitch, whoever you are."

Jon actually began to have a little bit of fun, mixed in with the anger he felt at her blatant lies, an odd slightly demented combination to be sure. He started laughing, flipping the changer to an alien voice so whatever she heard, it was probably insane and... out of this world. Great, he made a joke. While he was laughing, Jon also busied making a loop of what she had just said. Joe shook his head when Jon shut down the microphone and started playing that loop for her, knowing she would be hearing her own words on repeat for a while, thanks to the speakers in every corner of her room.

"You're going to drive her crazy."

"Take it from someone who knows, it's a short fucking trip."

That's all she heard for the next several hours along with being called a killer. Emery curled up on the bed tightly and buried her face in the one pillow offered, trying to block it out.

 _I didn't kill Colby Lopez!_

 _I WISH I'D NEVER MET HIM AFTER EVERYTHING HE PUT ME THROUGH!_

 _You're wasting your time grilling me because I didn't shoot him._

 _Do what you will to me…_

By the time it stopped, Emery had managed to cry herself to sleep somehow through the replay of her screaming words. Her heart was in shambles and she trusted no one except Annalise. There was no way Annalise would do something like this to her. She was kidnapped; Emery was in the clutches of Colby Lopez's, posse, worshippers, ex-lover, whoever and there was no escape in sight.

If this had been anyone else, Joe might have felt pity for them. He was all for the revenge, the justice, but Jon was brutal. Joe knew his best friend could be a very physical person and most people who looked at Jon never considered just how insanely smart the man was. Or crazy.

"That is... sick." Joe commented almost admirably while watching Jon finish up his latest torture device. "Are you really...?"

"Going to play all these home videos of Colby for her? You're damn right I am." Jon smirked, glancing at the sleeping Emery. "But first, some sleep and then a shower. Then I'll go visit Killer, see how she's hanging."

Hearing something new besides the constant repeat of what she said regarding her dead ex-fiancé, Emery slowly lifted her head at the sight of a screen falling down from the ceiling. Then a video began playing and it was…Colby. The Colby she remembered and had fallen in love with years ago. Sitting up a little more, Emery couldn't pull her eyes away from the moment, remembering it like it was yesterday and felt fresh tears slide down her cheeks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

" _Come on baby doll, I'm trying to clean my car here."_

" _Does it look like I care?" Emery giggled while filming him, moving out of the way when Colby went to snatch her and jumped back out of his reach. "Ooo you're not fast enough!"_

 _Colby smiled into the camera, shaking his head and continued washing his vehicle since it was a beautiful sunny day in Davenport. They were both originally from the town. "We can have fun AFTER I finish this, Emmy."_

" _No fun! Come on Lopez, just take a small break."_

 _Then she picked up a bucket and splashed him with it, soaking his full head of dark hair in water and suds. Her laughter echoed and Emery squealed out, being lifted up over Colby's shoulder. The camera was now firmly on his backside._

" _Nice ass, babe."_

" _Uh huh, now turn the damn thing off so I can ravish you properly."_

* * *

They ended up making love in the lawn with the vehicle blocking them from neighbors, most of them gone at work anyway. Colby was looking for a job and Emery had the day off, enjoying herself with her man. What happened to the magic and man in that video?

"I hope you're finally happy and sane wherever you are, Colby." She murmured, raising a brow when another video began playing.

This time it was Christmas Eve and once again, Emery had the camera. She was the camera person whenever capturing memories. Then she noticed two other people in the camera – two men she hadn't seen in years – and somewhat remembered them coming up to Davenport for a visit that year.

"What were their names?" She wondered aloud, chewing her bottom lip and tried racking her brain, head snapping up when she heard Colby's voice call them Jon and Joe.

"That's right. That's Jonathan Good and I think he was from Cincinnati. And that's Joe Anoa'i – god I remember how much I messed up his last name when Colby introduced us. Wow, I wonder whatever happened to them…"

If she only knew, Jon thought, toweling his naked body off as he watched and listened to the feed. Joe had gone to bed and would probably sleep a solid 12 hours straight. The Samoan had hardly slept properly since all this with Colby... Colby - His eyes narrowed, listening to the videos and Jon could hear just how much in love those two had been. He didn't want to know what had gone wrong, knowing Colby had loved Emery more than anything. When she left Colby, the man had been broken - a shell... Jon could remember some late night phone calls. Slinging the towel around his neck, the Cincinnati native contemplated what to do next.

Video after video forced Emery to make a trip down memory lane, all of it revolving around her time with Colby. There were a few videos thrown in when he was younger, before they met, that Colby showed her when they were together. When they were happy. What went wrong? The moment Emery moved in, Colby changed and became possessive and controlling. Why couldn't he just stay the sweet man she fell in love with? Did being engaged really change men that drastically? Emery breathed a small sigh of relief when the videos finally ended and fell asleep on the bed, curled up the best she could since her wrist was still cuffed to the bed.

If Jon were anymore evil, this would have been spank bank material, but the desire for vengeance didn't really get him hard. As it was, he was definitely saving the footage just to have a pick-me-up the next time he was feeling down. Once Emery had fallen asleep, he made his way to his room, not bothering with anything except a pair of jeans and pulled them up over his muscular legs, quickly buttoning them. Grabbing a beer on his way back to the main area, he keyed himself into her room and took a perch in the corner.

* * *

8 hours later, Emery's eyes snapped open and saw darkness at first, her brain still in a deep drowsy fog. It took her several minutes to fully wake up and the harsh realization dawned on her she was still kidnapped. Yanking on the cuff around her wrist, she groaned at the clinging against the metal bars that made up the headboard, pushing herself up in a sitting position. Instantaneously, Emery knew she wasn't alone and could feel a presence in the room with her, feeling her heart rate increase and the organ pounding vigorously against her chest.

"Who are you?" She demanded, jumping when a lighter flickered to light a cigarette, the smell permeating the room. Now all she saw was the cherry of the cigarette and nothing more, not catching a glimpse of her kidnapper's face. "I realize you're a Colby Lopez sympathizer and that's your business, but I didn't kill him. So calling me killer and showing me countless videos of that asshole won't make me crack under pressure since I'm already telling you the truth."

Jon snorted, having made himself quite comfortable in that corner. When it became obvious Emery would sleep for a while, he had gotten himself a metal folding chair, a 6 pack, and a fresh pack of smokes. His hair was now dried, curly and in need of a good brushing; Jon never bothered to put on additional clothes. He reclined back in his chair, dropping the cigarette into an empty beer bottle, contemplating smoking another.

"So you say, Killer." He drawled in a low raspy voice.

That voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Emery couldn't place it and backed up slowly on the bed until her head hit the iron headboard. "That's really getting old. My name is Emery. Use it or don't call me anything at all, asshole." She ordered, twisting her wrist against the cuff and knew there was nothing to be done except wait. Just like she had in solitary confinement for 6 months while the murder trial went on. "So what happens now? You keep me here against my will until I bend to what you want? Until I admit to killing Colby, even though I didn't? Or will you just let me starve to death because you were in love with an abusive, egotistical, manipulative dickhead that got what he deserved?"

Considering she was trapped in a dank room, handcuffed to a bed, Jon figured the woman had some brass balls on her making demands and chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "All of the above?" He suggested in an icy purr. "I bet, Killer, being on that bed for so long... you're probably thirsty, hungry... maybe have to take a leak?"

Jon would let her piss her pants if she couldn't play nice. Hell, he might do it anyway, just for his own sick twisted amusement. Emery didn't play nice to those who kidnapped her from a rest area of all places and she could only imagine how worried Annalise was by now.

"I want nothing from you and I won't beg either."

There was no reason to use the bathroom because, well, she was dehydrated from not having a drop of water in however many days. Her mouth was dry as a desert, throat burning with a need for something cool to slide down her throat. It wouldn't happen; Emery wasn't stupid or naïve.

"Cut to the chase, asshole, what do you want from me?"

Jon stepped out from his corner, a freshly lit cigarette dangling from his lower lip. "I guess you'll have to wait and find out, Killer." He leisurely made his way towards the door. "I got all the time in the world, and you - well, nobody is going to come looking for you, bank on that. Your friend, Annalise, thinks you're soaking up the sunshine and having a relaxing time." Exhaling a smoke ring in her direction, a malicious smirk curved his lips. "Of course, if you never come back, she might be sad for a while, but honestly, you've made her life a living hell and, secretly, I bet she's relieved you're gone."

That was a small relief that Annalise wasn't worrying about her for a change. "Are you so scared of me you can't even show your face, asshole?" If this man wanted to keep calling her killer, she would continue the name-calling game. "Oh that's right! You enjoy playing games with people you kidnap, huh? And if you're waiting for me to admit to something I did NOT do, you're wasting your time and will be here until the day you or I die. I didn't kill him and I'm innocent. But at least I'm not a coward and fought for my freedom. You, on the other hand, are keeping yourself in the dark because you're terrified of what I'll think when I finally do figure out who you are. And trust me, I will, asshole since I also have all the time in the world." Yanking on the cuff again, Emery wished he would at least take this contraption off because it was starting to hurt. "Go ahead, run and keep using your voiceovers. Sooner or later, you will have to let me go and all of this will be for nothing when YOU'RE the one sitting in prison instead of me."

"Keep running your mouth, Killer." Jon said softly, not moving from his place now against the door, nodding at one of the cameras and heard the click as Joe unlocked it. "You'll find out soon enough that your time... is already up." If she wanted to flap her jaws, more power to her; she'd probably regret it when that thirst really kicked in and she was all out of spit to swallow. Laughing, Jon walked out of the room. "She's an insistent little bitch, isn't she?"

"How many jurors did she have fooled?"

"Good point. If she doesn't play nice within a day or so, if she thinks I'm an asshole now..." Emery Colfax hadn't seen anything yet.

"Son of a bitch!" Emery whispered harshly, not believing baiting her kidnapper didn't work and shook her head, already feeling weak from lack of sustenance.

Annalise thought she was on vacation, so the asshole had her cell phone and was sending her best friend messages. How was she supposed to get out of here? Emery wrapped an arm around her stomach and curled up on the bed again, not able to do anything else. More videos began playing and she turned her back to them since it was more comfortable to lay on the bed because of her cuffed wrist. Shutting her eyes, Emery blocked out the videos since she'd already seen them and hoped she woke up soon from this never-ending nightmare.

"Where are you going?" Jon demanded, watching Joe pull his jacket on and raised a slow brow, seeing the gears turning in the Samoan's head.

"I'm thinking it's time to go pay a certain _friend_ of Emery's a visit. Don't worry bro, she won't know who I really am. Nothing wrong with a little innocent run-in, right?" Winking, Joe left the shack they had Emery Colfax held up in and hoped Jon didn't commit murder while he was gone.

* * *

With Emery gone, things were very dull around the apartment and the paparazzi had tapered off the moment they realized their victim no longer resided there. Annalise missed her best friend and wanted to beg her to come home, but she couldn't. It sounded like Emery was having a great time soaking up some much needed Vitamin D and relaxation. No way would she ruin that, even with all the final notices she received in the mail regarding the bills. Her current job wasn't cutting it anymore; it was definitely time to find something that paid more. Granted, it was her fault for taking so many days off from work, but what else was she supposed to do? Emery was rotting in jail for a crime she did not commit and Annalise would not abandon her like everyone else had. Stepping out of the apartment building, Annalise began her morning jog and slipped the earbuds in her ears, heading around back since they were right next to a park. It was one of her favorite places to run and clear her mind of everything happening in her life.

Stopping an hour later to catch her breath and suck down some water, Annalise sat on the bench to stretch her legs out in front of her, yawning. It was her only day off and she was making the most of it. She had on a black sports bra and matching jogging shorts, her body naturally tanned since she was part Hispanic. Mother was white and father was full-blooded Hispanic, so naturally Annalise could speak Spanish very well. Taking another long swallow of water, Annalise felt the bench move and turned her head to stare at possibly the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen in her life. He had to be well over 6 feet tall and had long black ebony tresses all pulled back in a low tail at the nape of his neck. His arms looked to be chiseled out of stone, the grey tank top he had on with white shorts making his naturally tanned skin, much like hers, stand out.

Feeling eyes on him, the man in question turned to look at her through hypnotic greys and Annalise felt her breath catch in her throat. Christ, he had beautiful eyes too! This man was a specimen, a Greek god, an Adonis, and Annalise had to pull her gaze away from him, her cheeks reddening a little. It showed through her caramel skin, her bottom lip sucking in between her teeth without Annalise realizing it. She wanted to say something to him, anything, not remembering the last time a man this striking had crossed her path. Would it really be bad to simply greet him? No, of course not!

"Hi." There, she broke the silence first and now the ball was in the grey eyed man's court.

He returned her greeting with a smile, setting his water bottle down as sweat dripped from his forehead and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Joe. And you are?"

Annalise stared at his enormous hand, swallowing hard and snapped her brown eyes up to meet deep grey, her entire mouth going dry. "Anna…Annalise." She stammered slightly, slipping her hand into his and felt the strength pulsating through every finger and the palm.

A spark surged up his arm the moment they shook hands and Joe kept the warm smile on his face, not giving away the fact he already knew who this woman was. "Beautiful name." He rumbled, wondering if she was into women or men given Jon assumed her and Emery were together. Joe highly doubted it from this reaction alone.

"Thank you, Joe."

They sat and talked on the bench longer than normal, each enjoying the conversation immensely and never wanted it to end.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Eventually, we're going to have to feed her and let her use the bathroom, if she hasn't already had... an accident." Joe commented, munching on a bag of Doritos and enjoyed his cold bottled water, watching the feed. "You wanna draw for it?"

"I'll just give her a bucket, she'll be fine." Jon snorted, flipping through his selection of CDs. He had some pretty interesting stuff in here and wondered if maybe he should give her a break from all the videos. "What about... a polka?"

"That's just cruel and unusual punishment. You going to try talking to her again?"

"Yup, after my pizza delivery gets here. I'm going to – uh – have lunch with Killer, you could say." Or just eat in front of her, Jon hadn't decided yet.

The smell of pizza combined with polka music made Emery's head throb along with her stomach. She was starving, going on however many days she'd been stuck here without anything to eat or drink. The dark circles adorning her eyes were near black, even though she had slept while being captured. Emery turned, spotting another cherry from a cigarette in the far corner and felt a cool fan blowing on her. Was this asshole serious? He was blowing the scent of pizza right at her! Not seeing a reason to move from the bed, Emery curled up in a ball tighter and stared at the wall, trying not to hear him eating in front of her.

Jon was definitely a dick. He might not be some old professional at torture, but he had picked up a few things. She was a murderer, a hardened criminal, and given her really poor habit of running her mouth... he had a feeling she wouldn't be overly easy to crack. However, hungry was hungry.

"Mmm..." He murmured appreciatively around his mouthful. "You hungry, Killer? This pizza is fucking delicious."

"I'm sure it is, asshole." She muttered softly, ignoring her loud grumbling stomach and didn't move from the bed.

He could sit there and watch her all he wanted. Emery had told the truth repeatedly since being kidnapped and she would not admit to killing Colby just to get out of here. If she died here, so be it. Maybe they would starve her to death – not a great way to go, but everyone had to die sooner or later. After everything Emery had been through the past 5 years of her life, she was tired and welcomed death with open arms at this point. Hunger pains were the worst and her insides felt like they would split open any second to reach out and snatch the pizza from her kidnapper. Emery dealt with it, flat out refusing to beg for a scrap.

Smirking, Jon stood up and grabbed his chair with one hand, the pizza box with the other and began making his way towards her, letting the chair grate audibly on the wooden floor. She wasn't going anywhere and he could only recall meeting her a handful of times, if that, so if she recalled him, he'd deal with it. Settling himself near her, in her line of vision, but out of reach, Jon did not trust her to behave herself.

"So, Killer..." He took another bite, smacking his lips loudly. "How're you enjoying your stay so far?"

Now that he was closer, Emery could see the outline of his face through the darkness since her eyes had adjusted to it, trying to place him in her mind. She couldn't. Who was he? Obviously, he was a friend or sympathizer of Colby. It didn't matter. He was putting her through more hell than she deserved and it was all because she took a chance on a guy. Never again. If Emery survived this kidnapping, she vowed to swear off all men and take a life of celibacy.

"Stop calling me that or I'm not answering you." She murmured, trying not to study him too hard and moved her eyes to stare back at the wall again. "My name is Emery, not killer. I didn't kill anyone."

"That's your story, you stick with it, Killer." Jon replied around another mouthful, the corner of his mouth curving upwards when he spotted a twitch, knowing that was probably driving her insane. "How long do you think you've been here? Annalise is starting to wonder when you're coming back." He swallowed before taking another bite, contemplating her. Finally, Jon placed a slice of pizza on the bed, near her face, all rather quickly. "Think we should tell her you found a place?"

"Considering you're keeping me here against my will because I won't confess to a crime I didn't commit – might as well." Emery remarked coolly, swiping the pizza to the floor and could feel tears budding her eyes.

All she wanted was to live the rest of her life in peace, was that so much to ask? Whoever had framed her – for all she knew it was this asshole in front of her – deserved a fate worse than death. Maybe starving herself was the way out of here too, though Emery would never reveal that to her kidnapper.

"Take your pizza and go fuck yourself, asshole."

"Now - now Killer, you're going to regret that." Jon taunted, though every muscle in him coiled, wanting nothing more than to just beat the confession out of her suddenly. He sat back, regarding her, knowing he couldn't act on his impulse, not just yet anyway. "How does it feel? Knowing you got away with murder? I know - I know, you keep saying your innocent, but the facts don't lie. Your alibi is shit; your whole defense is shit actually." There was something seriously wrong with the justice system of Tampa.

"You think I don't know that?!" Emery snapped, suddenly sitting upright in bed and didn't bother wiping away the tears sliding down her cheeks. They were full of anger and anguish, so much emotional and psychological damage done to her since meeting Colby Lopez. "I know all the proof points to me! And I know I didn't have a great alibi, but…nobody believes me! I literally slept for 15 hours straight and I have no idea why. I don't drink or party often and I definitely didn't do it that night. I was too busy being scared to leave the apartment because of Colby Lopez, but I did it anyway to try finding a way to stop him from ruining my life! They did a blood test on me and didn't find any traces of anything in my blood! But I swear to you I didn't kill him. I was let go because I'm INNOCENT!" How many times did Emery have to say it before people got it through their thick skulls? "I'm NOT a killer and STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

She could scream herself hoarse, repeat it over and over until she was blue in the face, but the fact remained she had committed the crime. Who else would want Colby dead? Jon let her rasp and gasp for a few minutes, knowing that had to hurt like a bitch since she didn't have anything to drink in quite some time. He would give her a few sips of water before he left; she didn't need to die of dehydration or anything.

"You say you slept for 15 hours straight, so how the fuck do you know that? How do you know what you did, huh?" He demanded, leaning forward to stare at her, pale blue eyes intense as he took in her tear streaked face. "All you know is what you want to believe... _Killer_."

Her throat burned with a vengeance and Emery had a hard time speaking from screaming, managing to answer his question. "I know because Annalise is the one who woke me up the morning Colby was found dead in the back of our apartment building. The last text message I sent her was exactly 15 hours prior to her waking me. She said I was out of it, groggy and I vaguely remember falling asleep." She had to stop talking to cough, hoping she wasn't coming down with a cold. That would suck considering she wasn't in good company who would take care of her. "The last thing I remember the day before was getting in my car and driving back to the apartment. I don't know how I got up to the apartment or in my bed for that matter. When I woke up, I was out of it and Annalise was certain I was drugged." Again, Emery stopped and had to take a deep breath to try stopping her dry throat burning. "She took me to the hospital immediately. They did a rape kit on me along with a blood test, which was humiliating and everything came back negative. She's the one who told me it was 15 hours and I've never…I've never slept that long in my life. If you don't believe me, talk to her. You have no reason not to trust her because she has a solid alibi. She was working the night Colby Lopez was killed."

"I don't believe a word either of you lesbian bitches have to say. She has a solid alibi and all you have are time stamped text messages. You say you slept; well, Killer, no one believes you." Jon snorted, rising to his feet and walked back to his corner to retrieve a bottle of water. "Better open up." He cautioned right before pouring it all over her face, letting the near empty bottle drop. "If you're hungry, pizza is on the floor right where you left it." He headed for the door. "I'll tell Lise you said hi, yeah?"

Coughing and sputtering from some of the water going up her nose, Emery couldn't respond to him and heard the door slam shut followed by a lock sliding into place. What the hell?! Lesbian lovers? Annalise was strictly dick and so was she! Who the hell was this asshole and why did he care so much about Colby Lopez? It had to be someone from her ex-fiancé past, someone Emery hadn't thought of. Hell, god only knew how many friends Colby had made over the years and didn't bother introducing her to them. Emery was screwed, shivering from the cold water soaking the front of her shirt and curled up on the bed once again. The pizza remained on the floor untouched and her throat once again burned, even after receiving a few drops of cool liquid. In no time, she was asleep again and hoped to stay that way, rather enjoying her dreams rather than reality lately.

* * *

"Wakey - wakey sunshine!" Jon crowed, letting her have just enough sleep to be functional and used his foot to roll Emery off the bed, watching the chain on the cuff tighten. He walked around to the side she was now laying on, eyeballing her down there on the floor. "You're in luck, Killer, you get a shower, food and a chance to use a proper toilet." Jon hadn't been lying about that bucket idea, but Joe was against it. "However, I feel obligated to warn you that I'll break your arm if you try anything or... my _friends_ will pay Annalise a little visit. We understand each other?"

"Get away from me. Just leave me alone! I don't want anything from you, asshole! You-"

The words died on her lips because this time the light was on and she could clearly see who towered over her. The flashback from one of the videos went through her mind and Emery backed away further, ignoring her throbbing probably sprained wrist, breathing heavily. No, it couldn't be! A rush of adrenaline surged through her and Emery began yanking on the cuff in spite of her hurt wrist, curling up in the corner between the bed and wall. What if he was the one who killed Colby and had been the one trying to pin her ex-fiancé's death on her?

"Y- You're Jonathan Good, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question and she remembered him being one of Colby's closest friends. "S-Stay away from me."

"Yeah, not likely, Killer." Jon rolled his eyes and bent down to undo the cuff, slipping the key back into his pocket before grabbing her by her not likely sprained or fractured arm, yanking her upright. "I'm glad you remember me, sweet cheeks. Colby and I grew up together, you remembered that, right?" He dragged her towards the door, ignoring her feeble struggles. Lack of water and food had taken their toll and Jon shoved aside the momentary twinge of guilt he felt. "He was one of my best friends."

"At least I know where you learned your treatment of women, asshole." Emery muttered before being tossed into a bathroom, managing to barely keep her footing.

Her whole body hurt from head to toe and her wrist had a nasty bruise on it along with a laceration. It was infected no doubt, but she didn't care. Now that she knew who had her in their clutches, there was no escape for Emery whatsoever.

"What are you gonna do? Force me to shower by tearing my clothes off? Maybe you wanna rape me like he used to do on a daily basis, huh? Go ahead, I don't have the strength to fight you off anyway."

Coughing from talking too much, Emery leaned against the sink and dropped to her knees, her stomach rumbling violently. Actually, Jon wanted to bash her head against the grimy tile wall for spewing those vicious lies. Colby had doted this woman, loved her more than anyone would have thought possible and she was still running the man down. He was dead! Growling, Jon hoisted her right back up, his teeth grit, eyes spitting blue fire. Guiding Emery to the shower and turning it on, Jon knew she didn't have the strength to tend to herself and inwardly cursed his lack of foresight. He simply held her there for a bit, letting the warm water pound down on both of them. Well, at least she wouldn't reek anymore.

Hot water or not, it was still something to drink that Jon didn't offer and Emery took a couple gulps while standing under the sprays. Emery would run Colby Lopez down until the day she died after everything the dick did and put her through. She noticed the fire burning in Jon's pale blue orbs and, if he hadn't kidnapped her and he didn't think she was a murderer, it would've been a rather sexually tense moment. How the hell could she even THINK about sex at a time like this?! Emery was seriously demented, feeling the water stop pounding down on her and Jon shoved her out of the shower, making her collide stomach first against the counter. She coughed again, glaring at him through narrowed aqua orbs in the reflection and watched him come toward her.

"You're a monster, just like he was. I guess best friends do learn from each other." She managed to spat before he shoved her out of the bathroom none too gently.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Honestly Killer, I think I learned this all from you. I've spent the past 6 months sitting through each hearing, trying to wrap my mind around all this..." Jon felt the warmth in the room, gathering Joe had turned up the temperature. Smart man. "Now, if you can promise to be a good little murderess, I won't cuff you back to the bed." It wasn't exactly like she had anywhere to go, now was it? "And I'll even send in a nurse to tend to your little wound there."

Even though Jon couldn't see him, Joe flipped off the monitor, shaking his head. Nurse, really?

"You're going to believe what you want, no matter how many times I say I didn't kill your precious abusive, psychotic best friend. Don't bother sending in a nurse. I don't want anything from you."

Emery could talk better now that she'd gotten a few gulps of water in her system, her stomach once again growling violently. It would pass and the sick feeling would settle in soon. She hated the feeling, but it was better than taking anything Jonathan Good had to offer. Why did incredibly handsome men have to turn out to be abusive dickheads? Would Emery ever find a man who didn't want to hurt her, providing she survived this kidnapping?

"And go fuck yourself while you're at it, asshole."

Maybe he would play nurse himself; Jon felt particularly vicious now. Flashing all his teeth at Emery in what was passably a grin, there was nothing friendly or amusing about it. "Hey bro, why don't you bring me my first aid kit?"

Sighing, Joe pushed away from the table and went to grab the box, knowing Jon would be less nice than he would have been. He let himself into the room, finally eyeballing Emery for the first time in several days, off a monitor. "She's sick."

"That is the least of her concerns. Killer there has a runaway mouth."

Of course she was sick! Jon had just given her a rather quick shower and she hadn't eaten in days. "Joseph Anoa'i. I should be surprised to see you, but I'm not. Knew this asshole had to have an accomplice. You both are gonna feel really fucking stupid sitting in prison when you realize I didn't kill Lopez. And I will be pressing charges once I'm out of here. My attorney will chew you up and spit both of you out so fast, it'll make your heads spin off your damn abusive shoulders. So keep going and see how far it gets you. I'm not changing what I've said for the past almost 7 months. I did not kill Colby Lopez. If I did, don't you think perhaps I would've already killed both of you by now?"

A murderer was cunning and sadistic – two things Emery knew zero how to be. She coughed harder, clutching her hurt wrist tightly against her chest and wrapped her free hand around it to keep it out of sight. It was horrible and more than likely, Emery would lose her hand if it wasn't treated, but again she didn't care.

"See, that's just cute, Killer. You keep mentioning getting out of here. What the hell makes you think you ever will?" Jon shot back, amusement in his tone and looked up when Joe growled. "Now, Joe isn't usually an angry guy, but I don't think he appreciates you being so hostile." He rifled around in the box, eyeballing its contents. "Joe, how's Lise doing?"

Joe folded his arms over his chest. "She met someone in the park behind her apartment building." He said flatly, trying not to look at Emery. "Met a nice guy there too..."

It took Jon a moment and when it hit him, he began laughing. "That's sick, man!"

"Leave her alone, do you understand me? Torture me all you want, but you leave Annalise alone, assholes! She has nothing to do with this!"

Emery had to get out of here and warn Annalise before she ended up going on a date with this lunatic! There had to be a way. No doubt John Layfield would start looking for her once Annalise realized something wasn't right. She was a fairly good judge of character and hopefully would see right through the Samoan. When Jon demanded to see her wrist, Emery shook her head and slapped him as hard as she could with her good hand across the face after he reached for it.

"DON'T TOUCH ME." Emery ordered in a low voice, not having the strength to scream anymore and rolled on the bed away from Jon when he made a grab for her.

Jon's blood was officially on fire and he lunged for Emery, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug and squeezed. "Listen here, Colfax," He growled in her ear, tightening his hold when she began squirming, feeling her tense against him. "If you want to make it long enough to go back to prison, I suggest you behave yourself because, right now, I'm not feeling very charitable." She had a hell of a smack on her for sure.

There was no point in fighting him off because she had zero energy from lack of sustenance in her body and the fact she more than likely caught a bug of some kind. It was probably due to her infected wrist, which she still had pinned against her chest and Jon's arm covered it while holding her tightly. He was spooning her actually, if one wanted to get technical about the position.

"I won't be going back to prison, asshole, because I'm innocent." Emery gritted out, ignoring the current pain she was in and shut her eyes. "But I know you will for what you're doing to me now – both of you." All Emery could hope and pray for was that Annalise didn't fall for Joseph Anoa'i's tricks or else she would be in trouble.

"Optimistic that you're getting out of here, aren't you Killer? That's the spirit, keep fighting." Jon cooed in her ear, laughing darkly when he felt her squirming against him. "It'll make it that much more delicious when I finally _break_ you."

"Hold out your wrist so I can tend it." Joe ordered, eyeballing her shrewdly. "Unless you'd rather we just chop it off?"

"Fuck off, asshole #2."

Emery was tired of being victimized and spat in Joe's face, an evil laughter soon following. She watched Joe slowly wipe the saliva from his face, grey eyes turning to pure steel. Cold iron. She wanted nothing to do with anybody Colby Lopez was linked to, including these two mongrels. They were convinced she murdered their precious buddy and Emery was starting to wonder if maybe she had, just not remembering it. No, she wasn't capable of murder. Self-defense yes, but definitely not murder.

"And trust me, if being in solitary confinement for 6 months didn't break me, nothing you do to me will, asshole #1."

"So you think." Jon sing-songed, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her while using his free hand to pry her injured wrist away from her chest. "Okay big man, fix Killer up."

Fixing the murderess up included her wounds being scoured open with anti-bacterial soap to extract all the pus. Once she started bleeding and it was nothing except the red substance, Joe followed that up with a whiskey bath, not surprised when Emery let out a scream. Even he tended to do some serious flinching at that one since whiskey burnt like nothing else. That was followed up with Neosporin and some wrap.

"Padded cuffs might be an idea."

"Sounds kinky, I like it."

Emery had never felt so much pain in her life, trembling from head to toe while lying on the bed with her throbbing wrist pressed to her chest. "You don't need to cuff me, period. Because I'm not leaving here until I prove to both of you I'm innocent and didn't kill your buddy."

Swallowing hard, Emery felt like razor blades were piercing her throat and continued staring up at the ceiling. There was nothing to go on, but Emery would find a way to prove her innocence, no matter what she had to do or how long it took. Since these two were hell-bent on making her life miserable, she decided it would be best not to fight them and instead show them the truth.

"Asshole #2, leave Annalise out of this. She has nothing to do with me being here and the less she knows about it, the better."

"See, if you really want me to do that, calling me asshole is not the way to do it." Joe informed her, his tone pure ice. "In fact, cooperating is probably your best bet. Until you can play nicely, Annalise and I are going to continue getting... better acquainted."

Even by Jon's morally bankrupt standards, that was cold and devious blackmail. Messing with the friend to get to the enemy, but... again, desperate times. He moved away from Emery, studying her thoughtfully. She wasn't going to be any good to them dead, after all.

"You have fun for a while, Killer. One of us will be back later to keep you company." Jon patted her head on his way out the door, deciding they had to feed and water their new pet.

* * *

For the next week, Emery continued being tortured verbally and psychologically by Jon and Joe, the videos and voiceovers slowly getting to her. She ignored most of it, instead racking her brain trying to figure out what happened the night of Colby's murder. Why had she slept for 15 hours and how was she supposed to prove her innocence to Colby's friends, who were demanding her to admit she committed the crime? Emery looked at her still bandaged wrist, knowing she'd more than likely have a scar from the handcuff biting into her skin. The only thing Jon and Joe hadn't done was cuff her to the bed; they wouldn't as long as she continued cooperating. This was getting old fast, being stuck in this room with her bag of clothes she brought with and nothing to occupy her mind. It was just like solitary confinement had been, only she had no idea how long they would keep her here against her will.

"So as fun as this is, Jonny boy, we're not getting anywhere with her, besides maybe slowly destroying her mind. I want her to confess to what she did."

Joe did not bother glancing at the monitor. He had been sending e-mails and text messages back and forth with Annalise, both as himself and Emery. As far as Annalise knew, Emery was having a grand old time, or at least, that's what he reported.

"So, you want me to go play bad cop with her, is that what you're saying?" Honestly, there was no good cop in this situation. Jon was busy reading through all the case files and evidence they were able to get their hands on, trying to piece together what had obviously been missed. "I can do that."

Emery didn't move when the door to her room swung open and shut, the lock once again sliding into place. Just the smell alone, she knew who was in the room with her, not bothering to look in Jon's direction. It was a mixture of cigarettes, musk and gasoline – very intoxicating. Why Emery thought that was beyond her, but she would be lying if she said she didn't find Jon to be a beautiful man. Still, he was her enemy and Colby Lopez's friend. Just like Joseph Anoa'i. They were not trustworthy. The bed dipped in front of her and Emery remained against the iron headboard, folding her legs Indian style. What did he want now? How many times would it take for him to start believing that maybe – just maybe – she didn't kill Colby? Jon studied Emery thoughtfully, noticing she didn't look sickly anymore. Probably helped by the fact he had decided to resemble something vaguely human and fed her regularly. It wasn't the best fare, but better than whatever she had had in prison.

"So... Killer," He began, seeing her shoulders tense, knowing how much she hated that title and merely flashed an angelic smile that was definitely out of place on his face. "Let's review again the night Colby died, shall we?" Jon would make her repeat herself and defend her ridiculous slept for 15 hours straight alibi yet again.

Once again, Emery told him the same story she'd told everyone else, nothing changing about it, not a single detail. "I know 15 hours is a long time to sleep. That's why Annalise took me to the ER because she said I was out of it and groggy. I don't remember anything past getting in my car and driving back to the apartment the day Colby was killed. And I know you don't believe me and you shouldn't because it does sound like bullshit, but it's also the truth. I did not murder him. I don't know how to shoot a gun and, if you wanna take me to a gun range, I'll prove it to you." Emery didn't know how else to prove her innocence to these men. "Hell, I even have my test results from the ER that morning with the time and everything."

"That doesn't mean jack shit. A kid can have dead on aim when it matters." Jon argued, stroking his chin while mulling over her words, her story. "You honestly believe you slept for 15 hours straight? Even you said you were groggy and out of it the next day. How the fuck do you not know if you did something during those hours and then just returned to bed?"

This is what Jon didn't get or understand; how this could have flown by any of the jury. She had walked on a technicality because she could not prove she was where she said she had been, and those text messages meant nothing. There was no options anymore and Emery felt like a broken record.

"I don't know what you want from me! I don't know what you want me to say or do! Actually, yes, I know what you WANT me to say, but I'm not saying it because I DIDN'T kill him. After everything he put me through, none of you understand the amount of hell Colby Lopez forced me to endure." Emery lowered her eyes from Jon and shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself shivering at the awful memories. They still plagued her nightmares at least once a week. "You see Colby as this victim when you don't know the real person he was – the monster he was. All you see is a friend that was gunned down and you're so hell-bent on believing it was his ex-fiancée of all people! I don't get it. Yes, it was outside of my apartment building, but did it ever occur to your stupid ass that I was set up? That maybe – just maybe – that abusive psycho rapist had enemies you knew NOTHING about? Oh no, of course not because he's perfect in your eyes, huh?" Rolling her eyes, Emery lulled her head back and shut her eyes, trying to stop shaking from so many emotions coursing through her at once. "I hate him. I hate Colby Lopez and I hope he's burning in all eight circles of hell."

Joe had been idly monitoring their conversation when he heard a strangled scream and turned to look. It hadn't come from Emery, which he had been expecting as she continued running down their dead friend, but from Jon. His eyes widened when Jon actually lunged forward and wrapped his large hands around Emery's relatively slim throat.

"Shit!" He flew out of the monitor room to go stop Jon from becoming a killer himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Somehow, Jon had Emery pinned under him, his rage filled mind unsure of how that had happened and his hands were around her throat, but he wasn't squeezing. Not that he didn't want to, because he did. He wanted to pop her head off like a tick due to the poison she spewed about Colby. He had grown up with Colby; Colby was the sweetest nicest of them all and she was calling him a psycho rapist? Refusing to take responsibility for the crime she committed and hell she had put Colby through?

"Killer." Jon managed to spit out. "I'm pretty close… to losing it…"

As if to emphasize his point, he squeezed, a warning gesture and something dimly registered in the back of his subconscious mind this would haunt him later. She wasn't showing it, not much, but deep in those aqua eyes was a tinge of fear, of resignation, like this was familiar territory for her. It was. Colby wrapping his hands around her throat had been foreplay to him and Emery had learned not to fight back. Her whole body went rigid on the bed, tears glistening in her eyes and Emery didn't dare close them. If these were her final moments alive, she wanted to look into the eyes of the man who ended her life. Being called a killer and murderer grated on the nerves, those already completely shot to hell. She didn't care anymore, finally managing to look away from Jon and slammed her eyes shut, waiting for it to happen again. Her chest rose and fell rapidly from ragged breathing while Jon continued squeezing her throat. Emery never once lifted her hands to fight him off or tried bucking him off of her.

What was the point?

"Go ahead, rip my clothes off like he used to and take what's not offered."

Jon simply stared down at her, breathing heavily and wasn't even aware Joe had come in. He only snapped out of it when he felt himself being pulled away from Emery, frowning.

"What the hell, Jon? You could have-" Joe trailed off, seeing that mentally, Jon was miles away and glanced down at Emery. "What happened?"

"I'm leaving for a few days."

"What?"

He was going to go back to Colby's place, he and Joe had been... inheritors, of sorts. Jon had never really bothered looking through anything, but... now he had to. There was more to this situation then he knew and Jon wouldn't torture a woman when there was doubt in his mind.

"I'll be back. Don't let her out."

"L-Let me go with you." Emery managed to push herself up to lean against the headboard, not bothering to wipe away the tears sliding down her cheeks. "I won't run, I promise." She coughed, holding her already bruising throat and moved her hand when Joe sat down to examine it. "Believe me, I-I want to prove my innocence and that's why I left Tampa – to try clearing my head and figure out how to go about finding proof." There had to be something hidden or a clue as to what happened the night of Colby's murder. "Please Jon, keeping me here won't solve anything. L-Let's work together and figure this mystery out. You can even cuff me if you think I'll make a run for it."

"Why the fuck would I take you anywhere? And why would I take you with me cuffed? Woman, what the fuck?" Jon stared at her like she had lost her mind. Hell, at this point, they were all on that verge. "You're staying here, Killer. I don't make public appearances with people I've kidnapped and what the fuck makes you think I care about proving your innocence? I don't think you are. I want to prove otherwise."

Joe was actually chuckling at that one. Take a kidnap victim on the road? Because that worked out... only in movies and books. "You can stay here, with me and we'll go over everything." He patiently offered, having more forbearance than Jon, though at least with him she wasn't at risk being choked to death.

Murderer or not, Joe didn't put his hands on a woman; there were lines even he wouldn't and couldn't cross.

"I said if you wanted to. I didn't say you had to." Emery muttered, rubbing her neck and knew it would swell in no time. "Look, I get you don't trust me and I sure as hell don't trust you. I don't trust either of you. But I don't want to be cooped up here anymore than you two do. Don't you have lives to get back to? Women who are missing you or something? Why not work together to find the truth? I didn't kill him. Do I wish I had? Damn right, but that's my personal business and it doesn't break my heart Colby was murdered. Just proves karma is indeed a bitch and he got bullets full of it lodged in his black heart."

"Seriously Colfax, shut the fuck up. You're not exactly endearing yourself to me." Jon sneered, heading for the door. "You're not going and I don't work with murderers. Be back in a day, Joe. Think you can handle her?"

"I'm not about to choke her out, if that's what you mean."

"Low blow, bro." Jon snorted, running his key through the lock before slipping out.

Shaking his head, Joe looked down at Emery. "You didn't really think he'd actually let you out, did you? You're stuck here until we all know the truth, one way or another."

"My story hasn't changed and it won't because I'm not lying. Liars change their stories to benefit them and make themselves look good. I told you both the truth countless times and I'm not doing it anymore. I have nothing left to say. So he can search all over the Tampa Bay area, but he won't find a shred of evidence that proves I killed Colby. There is none."

Emery rolled over on her side and curled up in a tight ball, her hand never leaving her throat. Silent tears fell from her closed eyes, a flashback of Colby choking her while raping her tearing through Emery's mind. Great, she would probably have nightmares about Colby more frequently now, thanks to Jon's temper tantrum. Joe had heard her say groggy and out of it; he had heard that a lot actually over the past 6 months. It had been repeated quite a bit at the trials and, she was right, she hadn't changed her story. None of it. Sighing, he left her alone, making sure the door was securely shut and locked behind him before going to browse the Internet. Rape test, drug test and everything had come back negative, so there was no evidence of anything. Still not entirely sure why, or even what he was looking for, Joe keyed in some search words and started researching.

* * *

" _When are you gonna learn to do what I tell you, Emery?!"_

 _Colby swiped the burnt dinner on the floor at her bare feet, watching her jump nearly out of her skin with wide aqua eyes. They were full of fear and terror – of him. Colby enjoyed that look in her eyes and felt his dick jump in his pants, immediately stalking toward her. Emery held her hands up and backed away from her fiancé, shaking her head at the predatory look in his dark eyes. She knew what was coming next, the blow coming to her face before she could blink._

" _Colby, please…"_

" _SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU!"_

" _Colby…" Emery choked out through pain and sobs, his hand throttling her while ripping her clothes from her lower body. Then her body crashed on top of the kitchen table, food spraying all over the floor while Colby raped her on top of it. "No – NO PLEASE!"_

* * *

"No – NO PLEASE!" Emery screamed, bolting upright on the bed crying her heart out. When the door swung open, it scared her and Emery rolled off the bed to crash on the wooden floor, scrambling back in the far corner. "GO AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME, COLBY!" She was still very much in the nightmare, not fully awaken from it.

Joe had been dozing when he heard screaming and checked the monitor. Emery was obviously having a nightmare, a very violent one if the way she thrashed and hollered in that bed were any indication. He had been inclined, at first, to just let it go, let her deal with it and then she began screaming even louder. Joe hurried to the room and unlocked the door; she had spazzed out and, in her half-awake state, she began fighting him screaming about Colby. Somehow, not understanding how it came to be, Joe found himself sitting on the floor holding her in his lap, trying both to restrain and soothe her at the same time. Her throat was killing her from both screaming and being throttled, every part of her body trembling from head to toe. Joe grabbing her and planting her in his lap made Emery snap out of the nightmare, not realizing she jacked him in the jaw with a flying fist during the scuffle. Now she clung to him for dear life, clutching the t-shirt he had on and soaked the front of it with unstoppable tears. All Joe did and could do was stroke her back and let her curl up in his lap.

"N-Nobody understands…N-Nobody believes me..." She whispered several times, crying harder to the point where Emery began sobbing.

Eventually, she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

* * *

The police and detectives had been in this house and combed it over multiple times, looking for something, anything, to provide a clue as to why Colby had been murdered. They hadn't found a speck of evidence. Jon knew he was probably wasting his time. If Tampa's finest hadn't been able to find anything, then what chance did he have? Snorting, he raked a hand through his curly hair, looking around and then smirked. His chance lay in the fact he knew Colby and his friend, his brother, wouldn't have made it easy on anyone to find anything, if he had been hiding something. When they were a lot younger, little Jon, Joe and Colby had devised a code. They had been boys, wild with imagination, and one of their favorite games had been pretending they were soldiers, needing a code of their own to pass messages that couldn't be deciphered by the enemies. Enemies usually being girls because, at that age, they were full believers that girls had cooties.

Even though Jon grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, born and bred, some of his family lived in Davenport, Iowa briefly. He was taken away at a young age to live with his Aunt Izabella – Aunt Izzy – and that's how he'd met Colby and Joe. Meeting Joe was a fluke, but all three boys instantly connected with each other. They found out shortly after meeting that Colby's parents were good friends with distant relatives of Joe's that lived in Moline, at the time. He was just paying them a visit with his own parents. When Joe had to leave Davenport to head back south to Pensacola, Florida. Throughout the years, somehow, the boys kept in contact with each other, visiting each other – Joe mostly coming to Davenport since Jon and Colby were there – and a few times Jon and Colby were able to fly down to see Joe. They were brothers and nobody could tell them differently.

Jon hadn't really remembered any of this, until he was browsing Colby's laptop. Everything on it was typical, some pretty boring vanilla porn, social media accounts, pictures of him and Emery... and then - then he had seen a sticky note tabbed with some pretty messed up wording. It had taken him a few minutes to remember it, but when he had, Jon had directions for a storage unit. Now Jon currently stood in front of the metal door with a padlock on it, fingering the key in his hand and wondered just what the hell had been important enough to hide in here. If Colby didn't want it found, why would he use their old code if he hadn't expected Jon or Joe to find this? Just so he'd remember himself, without anyone asking questions? Jon didn't like that thought because it made him think Colby might've had something to hide. No, better to think this was something Colby had wanted found.

Taking a deep breath, he slid the key in the padlock and pushed the metal door open.

* * *

When Emery woke up the following morning, she was alone in bed again, only this time covered up and the door was wide open. Raising a slow brow, she sat up slowly and swung her legs down to plant on the wooden floor, pushing up to stand. Every part of her body hurt from thrashing around and her throat had a nasty purple bruise coating the front of it. Why was the door open? Emery frowned, stepping towards it and then another…each step making her heart pound a little faster and harder, waiting for Jon or Joe to show up to stop her. Once she was out of the room, Emery didn't make a beeline for the front of the house they were in like she should've. Instead, she began exploring where she was at and found the kitchen, making herself a sandwich for the first time in almost 2 weeks. In the back of her mind, she wondered if maybe Joe forgot to lock the door after leaving her the previous night, remembering him calming her down enough to fall back asleep. If Jon came back and saw her walking around freely…Emery didn't want to think about it and continued making her sandwich, sipping a bottled water from the fridge to try soothing her bruised throat.

Joe wasn't a complete idiot.

The windows were all made of shatterproof glass, the doors only opened with a key -he had it on him- and were made of some thick sturdy oak. She had no way out of the house and the sharpest thing in the kitchen, outside of her breaking something, were butter knives. Joe was pretty sure he could defend himself. He watched her cautiously from the doorway of the kitchen, wanting to see what Emery would do with her limited freedom. Making a sandwich wasn't what he expected. He decided perhaps one of the best ways of determining her character, and if she could kill a guy, was to see how she acted outside of confinement, talk to her like she was a person and not a murderer. Joe probably wouldn't be able to do it with Jon around, so he took advantage while his friend was gone.

"Hello." He stepped into the kitchen, maintaining a respectable distance from her.

"Hi…"

Hearing him coming hadn't been hard considering the floors creaked under Joe's heavy boots along with Jon's. She heard them walking the hallways on a nightly basis since being here. Cracking a small smile, Emery turned slightly and held out a plate with a sandwich on it, extending it as a sort of peace offering. There was no poison in the house or anything she could use to make him sick, which she knew he was thinking while eyeballing the sandwich.

"Suit yourself then."

Setting it down, she began making another sandwich and shook her head, too tired emotionally, physically and mentally to put up a fight right now. It was stupid and he knew it. He had watched her make the sandwich, but at the same time… she had walked on a technicality. Maybe she was innocent, but until he had some concrete proof, Joe wasn't eating anything she made. Fortunately, he wasn't hungry. Joe watched as she made herself a second sandwich before sitting at the island on one of the stools, moving to stand in front of her, across the way.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"How are you feeling?" Probably a stupid question, but Joe had to make some kind of conversation.

"About as good as I can be." Emery wouldn't lie to him about how she felt, sipping more water while moving the stool back and forth. The sandwich wasn't the best, but it was food and she was too famished to be picky. "I know it probably doesn't mean much to you, but…thank you for last night. You didn't have to stay to calm me down and you did it anyway. You're not as much of an asshole as I thought, Joe."

That was one of the first times she used his actual name. Emery cracked another smile and watched him simply nod his head in her direction, finishing her first sandwich silently. They both snapped their heads up when the front door to the house opened and heavy boots came toward the kitchen.

"Oh boy, sounds like the other asshole is back." 

"Don't Emery, don't provoke him." Joe cautioned softly, listening to the steps coming towards them. He frowned when they tapered off, hearing a door shut and knew Jon had slipped into his temporary bedroom, frowning. "Colby was like a brother to him. I get that... something went wrong between you and Colby, but regardless, he was our friend."

Not to mention, if Colby had been a woman beating rapist, like Emery claimed, that made it hurt even more. Knowing they had shed tears, grieved and were still grieving for this man who might have been the scum of the earth. He stood up when he heard something he hadn't heard in 6 long months, since they received the phone call regarding Colby's murder.

Jon was crying.

"Joe, wait." Emery couldn't imagine what these men had gone through and felt horrible for the things she said about Colby in front of his friends. Sure, he was a complete dick to her, but not to them. "Let me go find out what's wrong with him."

"Emery, that's not a good idea…"

"I'm not scared of him. And he won't hurt me."

Something happened while he was gone and Emery had to find out what it was. What if it had to do with Colby? She was sure it did. Before Joe could stop her, Emery made her way out of the kitchen and left him behind, following the sound of male crying. Standing outside the door, Emery took a deep breath before tapping on it and turned the knob, pushing it open to reveal Jon sitting on the bed with his head lowered, fists clenched in front of him. Her heart broke at the sight and Emery had no idea what possessed her to do it, but she closed the distance between them, stepping between his legs. Wrapping her arms around his head in a gentle embrace, Emery began stroking his auburn blonde curls through her fingers, not saying a word and let him cry against her much like she'd done with Joe last night.

For a split, irrational second, Jon wanted to shove her away from him. There was a part of him that still blamed her. It was stupid and made no sense whatsoever, Jon knew it. But there it was. If she hadn't - if she hadn't come along, Colby wouldn't have lost his mind and... Jon felt his body shuddering, trying like hell to stop crying, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. The irrational part of his brain took control eventually and Emery was shoved back against the door, her back colliding with it. They had stood there for what seemed like hours, but only mere minutes before Jon pushed her away. Fine. Emery was an idiot to think anything would be different.

"I'll send Joe in." She informed him and walked out, closing the door not surprised to see Joe waiting for the inevitable to happen. "I tried and failed. I'll leave you to it and go explore more of the house."

Walking past him, Emery barely held the tears in until she was alone and let them fall, sitting in the living room of the house. It was a change of scenery, even if it was dusty. She wasn't getting out, so Joe didn't overly worry about it, not vexed about her. He had warned her going in there to talk to Jon was a bad idea, but the woman hadn't listened. Maybe next time she would. Sighing, Joe stepped into the room, frowning slightly at the sight of his best friend hunched over.

"What happened?"

Jon managed to finally suck it up, knowing deep down he shouldn't have shoved Emery. He hadn't been able to stop himself though. Finally, he managed to get out what he had seen, gesturing to a tote he brought back with him from Colby's storage unit. It was still surreal Colby Lopez was a sadist.

"Have a look." He grumbled in a hoarse voice. "Our friend..." Jon choked on the word. "Was a sick son of a bitch."

Joe looked through the tote for a good hour, feeling nauseous at the disgusting images and proof Jon had found. How this hadn't been found by the authorities was beyond the Samoan's comprehension. He didn't understand it. Did this mean Emery was innocent? It had to be. The poor woman and everything they did to her – put her through…Joe couldn't look at any more of it and shoved the tote away, acting like it just singed him. He stood up from the bed while Jon remained seated and began pacing, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is…we tortured her for the past 2 weeks for nothing…" If his mother ever found out about this, Joe was in hot water and would gladly take the beating because, honestly, they both deserved it. "What now, man?"

"What now? Fuck if I know. You know as soon as we let her go, she's going to do her best to send us to prison." It served them right, but Jon wasn't going to prison. Not over her. Not over Colby. "Destroy everything here, Joe; complete wipe. Remove all traces of everything we touched, she touched and we'll plant her ass somewhere. When she goes running, nobody will believe a damn word she says. It's too soon and a lot of people still think she's guilty."

"This stuff could clear her name."

"Maybe, probably not. It actually gives her a hell of a motive, but she'd get off on a defense plea."

"I'm not going to turn either of you in, Jon."

Emery overheard the entire conversation, having come back to make sure Jon really was alright. For some reason, she was worried about him and hated it. She was crazy considering everything they put her through, just as Joe thought. Her eyes went to the tote Jon had apparently found of Colby's and Joe stopped Jon from moving, letting her look through it.

"Oh my god…"

Her hand covered her mouth at the countless photographs of her and Colby together. Some of them were good, but most were…bad. Horrible, sickening and downright degrading. Colby had taken pictures of her in…precarious positions and when she found a picture of when he raped her on the kitchen table…Emery slammed the lid to the tote shut and shook her head.

"Get rid of it. Burn it all."

"But…"

"I don't need my name cleared. I know I'm innocent and the judge deemed it. That's all that matters to me. You guys can keep thinking what you want, but at least you now know the type of monster your friend was. Get rid of it all, please." Then she left the room and found the nearest bathroom, vomiting the sandwich she ate prior to Jon coming back.

"That would be her sandwich." Joe leaned in the doorway listening to her, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "So, do we burn it?"

He didn't look at the tote; what he had seen was more than enough. Colby had somewhere along the way lost his mind and Joe, at the moment, had no idea how to cope with it. He had seen what it did to Jon, knowing eventually it would catch up with him too once the shock of the situation wore off.

"Burn everything." Jon whispered, licking his dry lips, trying to ignore the sounds of vomiting and crying coming from the bathroom. "I'll get her out of here."

Emery was not surprised to be lead out of the house and into a waiting warm vehicle with Jon as the driver. Joe stayed behind to get rid of any evidence in case she changed her mind in turning them in. Her throat was still heavily bruised from Jon's hands and now she barely had a voice from vomiting and crying so much. Colby Lopez had put everyone through insurmountable hell in his life, not just her and Emery felt terrible for his two closest friends. They were more than close; they were brothers just as Joe had said.

"I meant what I said, you know." Emery looked over at Jon and admired how the lines of smoke drifted from his nostrils and mouth. It was very sensual and made her insides turn to mush. "I understand why you guys did this and I'll take it to the grave with me. Nobody will know about it, not even Annalise. I won't turn you guys in. I just want this to finally be put to rest."

She was forgiving them for basically mentally and emotionally torturing her and, in his case, some physical abuse. No wonder this woman had been a domestic violence victim. Jon briefly wondered if she was a masochist – Colby's personal masochist. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for her, feel like the lowest person on earth or be pissed off with her for being weak and merciful, deciding to go with all three.

"Why'd you put up with it from Colby?" He demanded, glancing at her. She was attractive, no doubt about that, so what the hell was Colby's deal? "Why... I can't wrap my mind around what he did or why."

"Because I truly loved him. Everything was fine between us…until he asked me to move in with him and proposed to me. I don't know what made him…turn into a monster and I wish I did. I asked him so many times and all he would say was he loved me and he never wanted me to leave. I wish I hadn't moved in or accepted his proposal because then maybe – maybe he wouldn't have changed so drastically." Emery explained in a soft resigned voice, looking out the window away from Jon to hide her tears. "When I finally left him, he really lost his mind. He followed me to Tampa and started stalking me. I had to quit 4 jobs because of him and each boss was on the stand to prove that. I finally had to move in with Annalise just to gain a moment of solitude from him. My love for him was unwavering and he managed to somehow turn it into pure hatred."

Wiping tears away, Emery could tell Jon felt horrible after what he put her through alongside Joe. Jon digested everything she said, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel, his hold tightening with every word that came from her mouth. He knew she was telling the truth; he had been present for all those trials and finding the tote of sadism couldn't be ignored or denied. Jon could add two and two and get four. But at the same time, it still hurt and he wondered if it would ever stop.

"Did you kill him?" He asked finally, knowing she had protested her innocence time and time again. However, Jon hadn't known all this and now – now he didn't think he would or could blame her for it. It was probably the only way out of a horrid situation. "I know you said you were asleep, but... do you think maybe you could have done it sleepwalking or something?"

"No." Emery answered without hesitation and sounded sad, just like she had during the trial. "Even though he put me through hell and stalked me for months, I never once thought about killing him. I don't have a murdering bone in my body." She had tried to tell him and Joe for the past 2 weeks while they had her captive. "I-I'm sorry for the things I said about him to you and Joe. I know it can't be easy to hear that and…I should've been more understanding than I was. I just figured you wanted to hear the truth, brutal or not, about your friend. As far as the 15 hours I slept and don't remember goes, I still believe I was drugged and so does Annalise. There's just no proof of it. And if I ever do find it, you'll be the first person I tell besides her."

"That's just it, Kil- Emery…"

Jon had gotten quite used to calling her killer and, even now, there was still that lingering doubt in his mind. A woman in an abusive relationship like she had been, beaten and raped, scurrying from job to job because of harassment, he would have killed the bastard, then lied like crazy after the fact. Jon still couldn't believe she had wanted the tote of evidence burnt. It could have saved her, or maybe condemned her, but he doubted it. The media loved an abuse victim; she would've been hailed by women's right activists as some sort of hero or something, while Colby... Colby would be made out to be the heartless villain.

"You think you were drugged and, regardless of what you believe, there is 15 hours you can't account for. No one can." He ran a hand down his face, eyes on the road ahead. "Hell... it probably doesn't matter at this point. Not anymore."

There was nothing else that could be said to make the situation better, or to make Jon feel better. Emery would've lost her mind if she found out Annalise had gone off the rails and turned psychotic. She couldn't imagine what both Jon and Joe felt at the moment, her heart hurting for both of them. Jon didn't believe her and probably never would, but at least Emery was going home now instead of being locked in a dirty house with a very uncomfortable bed and two brooding men. She wasn't surprised when Jon pulled over on the side of the road several blocks from her apartment and put the vehicle in park, both of them looking at each other. Emery knew she would never see Jonathan Good again and stepped out of the vehicle, not sure why she suddenly felt a deep sadness.

"Take care of yourself, Jon."

Jon stared at her thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side. She was just standing there on the sidewalk and he felt... almost bad dropping her off like this. Emery had issues, serious ones, and he and Joe had double, possibly tripled, them. He would not be surprised if she changed her mind and wound up pressing charges against them anyway.

"There she is! Miss Colfax!"

She was being mobbed by reporters and probably missing the tranquility of the shack with two assholes, as she so eloquently referred her kidnappers. There was no way he could leave her like this, owing her something for all the hell he put her through. Not to mention putting his hands on her in a physically violent way. Jon slid across the truck and opened the door, reaching out his hand to her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Not thinking twice about it, Emery soared back into the truck a trembling mess and looked behind her at the reporters snapping pictures, running down the sidewalk. "Jesus…" She whispered, not believing her new hair-do and dye hadn't thwarted them any. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that." She reached over and covered Jon's hand with hers, squeezing it gently. He was her hero for getting her out of a very bad situation with the paparazzi and reporters. "Maybe leaving Tampa permanently isn't a bad idea after all…"

"I don't envy you."

Jon slammed his foot on the gas to put some distance between her and the reporters, wondering how her friend was faring living with that chaos. The last thing he needed was pictures of them circulating. Someone would eventually connect the dots, figure out his relationship with Colby and then... he groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. He was Colby's best friend, one of the inheritors of Colby's jacked up estate and she was Colby's ex, recently determined innocent potential murderer.

"Well fuck."

Going back to the apartment wasn't an option and, thanks to the men giving her phone back, Emery knew Annalise had a date scheduled with Joe that night. She didn't want to drag Jon and Joe into this mess, but they already dove headfirst the moment they kidnapped her. Jon was her only option right now to stay safe and away from the media until Emery could figure out a way to clear her name once and for all.

"Is there some place you can take me for the night, just so I can relax a little and figure out what to do? I promise, it won't be more than a day. Joe is busy with Annalise and…I'm going to ask him to bring her wherever you're taking me. I know you don't trust me and probably hate me, but…I really need your help. Please?"

Jon was torn between laughing outright and groaning because this was one hell of a situation. She, his kidnapping victim, was asking him for help. "You got Stockholm Syndrome, Emery?" He asked, tapping at his head with long fingers. "Yeah, I got a place." He had his own little hovel from hell; something he had leased when it became obvious this trial would drag.

"No of course not! Trust me, I don't want to spend any more time with you than I have to." That was a flat lie. "But right now you're my only option and its survival. You don't have to talk to me and I won't talk to you." 

Emery looked away from him to stare out the window, wondering if her life would ever be the same again after this trial. Would Colby Lopez haunt her for the rest of her life? And what were these budding feelings forming for his best friend suddenly, who kidnapped and tortured her for 2 weeks? Emery had to squash them; there was no chance of sparking anything between her and Jon, not when he loathed her. Truthfully, things were a bit too fresh, too raw, and Jon had to add his new issues of being an abusive prick, plus a kidnapper, on top of everything. He had to reconcile the fact he had crossed some extremely shady lines and what he had done to a woman who was... innocent. Jon wanted to throw up. Survival...he would have found that ridiculous if not for the fact that he had just witnessed what vultures those... people were.

"You hungry?" He asked randomly, needing something safe to say to her. Maybe to make things easier between them.

"Sure, yeah. Just stop wherever you want and get me anything chicken." Emery replied quietly, clasping the phone in her hand a little tighter and felt tears burning in her eyes.

Jon ended up stopping at a McDonald's, something quick and safe with Emery keeping her head lowered, trying not to draw attention. They received the food without a problem and 15 minutes later, Jon pulled into an apartment complex on the outskirts of the city. It suddenly occurred to Emery this would be the first time she was alone with Jon, no Joe around to stop him from hurting her if he wanted to. Something told her he wasn't the abusive type and Emery understood why the men kidnapped her. It was one of the many reasons she wasn't turning them in, besides the fact she didn't want to deal with the police ever again. Personally, Jon didn't perceive Emery and didn't bother trying, not right now. What he WOULD do was eat and sleep with one eyeball open because while, she professed she wasn't a killer, -On some level he did believe her- Jon still didn't trust her.

"My little slice of hell." He announced with a sardonic smile, letting her into his austere apartment.

This was not his place of residence, not really, so Jon hadn't bothered with personalizing it. The apartment itself wasn't bad, but it had…nothing. A couch, television set that looked 20 years old with a VCR and DVD player, nothing on the walls. Emery didn't bother venturing further in and sat down on the couch to make herself as comfortable as she could.

"Like I said, I just need to stay here long enough to figure things out." Good thing Jon's windows were tinted in his truck or the paparazzi would've gotten a shot of him as well. They hadn't, hopefully. "I'll sleep on the couch."

He probably had a bed or a mattress in the bedroom, a place Emery would not walk into unless absolutely necessary. Pulling out the food, she handed it over to Jon and felt a jolt of electricity rush up her arm as their fingers brushed together, eyes connecting at the same time. What the hell? Emery tore her gaze away from him and pulled her own food out, setting the paper bag on the floor. That was... interesting. Odd and untimely, but interesting nevertheless.

"Looks like you'll be sharing with me then, Emery." He rumbled, dropping down onto the floor and unwrapped his cheeseburger, stretching his long legs out. Jon eyed her thoughtfully and couldn't keep the half grin off his face when she looked at him confused. "I don't have a bed. The couch is a foldout though."

Could the luck get any worse, Emery thought, feeling extremely awkward for assuming he had anything else in the apartment to sleep on. "No that's…okay. Floor is fine with me."

Where the hell would Joe and Annalise stay if they came back here? Did Joe have his own place in Tampa as well? Would Annalise be alright with the Samoan brute? Honestly, Jon had been the one to torture and put his hands on her, not Joe. If anything, she owed Joe for helping her with the infection in her wrist when she was sick from it. He took care of her and she never thanked him for being kind. Emery ate her food silently, forcing it down her throat because she would not be put in a position again where she was weak and frail from lack of sustenance, especially around Jon.

Jon looked at her and then his thinly carpeted floor skeptically. "That's not going to work, Emery. This floor is cement. You'd wake up feeling like you got run over by a truck." Jon knew from experience because he had slept on it before getting the couch. It had nearly killed him. "I promise, I don't... well... I won't bite." He amended, taking a large bite of his cheeseburger, still staring at her with thoughtful pale blues. "Might wake you up with morning wood though."

She didn't know if he was joking or not, but nonetheless Emery cracked up laughing at him and couldn't stop. It'd been so long since she laughed this hard, her chicken sandwich dropping to the wrapper in her lap. "I – I won't take offense to it then." She managed to say after laughing for 10 straight minutes, enjoying the ache in her sides because it was from something joyous instead of torture or hunger pains. "That hit the spot." Emery finished her last bite and took the trash to the kitchen along with Jon's, who had finished way before her. "Do you at least have something to drink here or should we run out and get a few things?"

"There's uh, water... and beer."

Pushing himself to his feet, Jon shed the over shirt he wore, tossing it without a care over his shoulder and walked into the kitchen, wearing his jeans and white beater. There was no central air or air conditioner in the apartment, which was criminal since it was Tampa. All he had were old-school box fans.

"If you want, there's a corner street just a minute away. We can walk there."

There was no point driving the truck when it was a literal few minute walk. Emery had to learn how to breathe again at the sight of Jon peeling off the first layer of clothing, his muscular tanned arms and white beater covered chest doing nothing to quell the raging fire within her. She hadn't been with a man, or interested in anyone, since Colby.

"Water's fine. I don't need anything special." Sweltering suddenly being this close to him, Emery took her own jacket off and set it in the corner neatly on top of her duffel bag, wearing blue jean shorts and a black tank top, black tennis shoes on her feet. "Do the windows open? We can put one of the fans in to try circulating the air in here, if you want…" This was really awkward.

Jon took a good look around the room. This was pretty much it. The living room and attached kitchen. There was a tiny bedroom and an even tinier bathroom with only a shower, no tub. He paid low rent and received low rent conditions; it suited his needs, but now – now he was thinking that maybe he should have sprung for something nicer. Wait, she was only staying for a night and it wasn't like they were friends, so why the hell did he need to impress her?

"Yeah sure, probably should air the place out too." He agreed, walking over to begin prying open the windows. While he did that, she set up the fans and, when he was done, his beater was covered in dust. "Well... that's gross." He peeled that from his body next.

Emery chewed her bottom lip and did her best not to devour him visually. It wasn't an easy task and she somehow managed it. Jon had an incredible body, muscles for days, but he didn't have too much to where he looked bulky. It was all perfectly proportioned.

"That feels much better." She sighed softly, sitting on the couch again in front of the second box fan and leaned back against it, a fine sheen of sweat already coating her body that was slowly drying on her skin from the breeze. "Hopefully it'll cool down tonight." Tampa wasn't bad during the night because the temperature did drop a little, but it was the humidity that Emery hated.

Jon surveyed her, taking in the denim shorts and tank top, knowing that hair cut definitely had to help with things. "Bet you're glad you cut your hair, huh? Being shorter must make things a lot cooler." He was sure she had to realize he had stalked her since she had gotten out of prison.

If not, now she knew.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I figured since I was leaving town might as well try changing my appearance a little. Fat lot of good it did me, huh?"

Emery turned her head when Jon settled on the couch next to her and didn't bother moving away. She wanted to be close to him. For some odd reason, he made her feel safe, even though he physically hurt her. It made no sense. Hell, look what Colby put her through! What Jon did was mild compared to him and she could tell how awful he felt about it, unlike Colby, when he abused her.

"I'm getting used to the new dye job."

"It doesn't look so bad." Jon shifted on the couch to face her, draping his arm along the back of the couch, studying her thoughtfully. "The blonde was hot, don't get me wrong, but the brown and it being so short... gives you an edgier look."

He could not believe he was sitting here talking about her hairstyles like they were girlfriends or something. Jon had just hit a whole new level of low, doubly because for some jacked up reason, it didn't bother him. Emery didn't miss Jon complimenting her honey blonde hair and smiled, cheeks reddening a little.

"Edgier?" That was different and refreshing to hear. "Hmm maybe it does." She fingered the back of it a little, enjoying the hair no longer being on her neck to where she had to put it up on top of her head. Often, her hair gave Emery a headache from putting it up so much because of how long it'd been. "Has anyone ever told you your hair is adorable?" Did she really just said that? Yes, yes she had and it wasn't a lie. "You have a mop of curls on your head and, at first I thought they were dishwater blonde, but you have red in them. So what are you – an auburn blonde then?"

"Something like that, I guess." Emery had just called his hair adorable. Jon usually kept it wet or gelled, anything to tame the unruly locks, but... Florida heat didn't agree with his hair. There was nothing to be done with it. "Okay, as... fun as this girly talk is..." He shook his hair out, hoping it looked messed up and less adorable. "It's early, you wanna watch some TV or something? Maybe grab a shower." Against better judgment, Jon reached out to trace a finger across her shoulder. "You're sweating."

"It's about 1,000 degrees in here right now. And so are you." Emery remarked, aqua eyes following his finger on her shoulder.

Pale blue mixed with aqua; Emery felt breathless at his simple touch and noticed a drip of sweat sliding down the side of his face. She moved closer to him, brushing it away with her finger and popped it in her mouth, not sure what possessed her to do it. The salty taste of his sweat only intoxicated her further, made her drunk for the man sitting beside her. Hunger and desire clouded her eyes, a passion haze slowly taking over her brain and any rational thought she had. It was just the two of them in front of a single boxed fan; all Emery wanted to do was tear her clothes off and attack Jon, her tongue snaking out to wet her dry lips.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

What the hell? That was all Jon could think, staring at her. He wasn't looking at Emery as Colby's ex-fiancée or his kidnap victim. Now, he saw her as a beautiful woman who was obviously ready and willing to be bedded. Jon hadn't gotten laid in quite some time and it hadn't been for a lack of women eager to jump on his dick. There had been too much going on and sexing it up with some random broad hadn't appealed to him.

"Emery..." He growled in a low raspy tone. "I want to fuck you."

Maybe she was acting like a bitch in heat, but Emery didn't care. Jon's confession was all she needed to hear. Emery removed her tank top in front of him and tossed it over her shoulder, the air from the fan doing nothing to calm her raging blood and hormones down. Sometimes sex happened on a whim between two people who desperately needed a release and nothing more. It didn't have to be rational or logical. It didn't have to be romantic or a big buildup to a huge moment in their lives. Sometimes a person just had to be screwed senseless and that's exactly what Emery needed at the moment.

"So do it. Fuck me, Jon."

Straddling his lap, Emery buried her fingers in his auburn blonde curls she adored so much and covered his mouth with hers, the taste of him making her moan. Jon's hands were instantly all over her, reaching for every piece of flesh he could touch, fingers impatiently pushing past the material of her clothing until he reached bare skin. She was hot, feverish to the touch and he had to wonder if it was from the heat or him. Emery tasted like heaven, sweet and sultry, a hint of spice, and Jon bit at her lower lip, lapping his tongue over it to soothe away any momentary pain. His hips arched up against her, feeling her grinding against him.

Black cherries. That's what he tasted like. It was a mixture of black cherries and cigarettes. The moment their tongues touched, a shiver shot down Emery's back that went all the way to the tips of her toes. No matter what, she couldn't stop kissing Jon, even with everything he put her through at the old shack he locked her in alongside Joe. It was stupid not to be angry with them for what they did to her, but Emery was the type of person who put herself in other people's shoes. If it was Annalise who was killed and she was nearly certain who the killer was, and they walked – Emery would've taken the law into her own hands to gain justice for her dead friend. Maybe she was naïve in having a thought process like that.

His teeth biting at her bottom lip sent tremors throughout her body and she did the same thing to him, reaching down to unsnap the button of his blue jeans. Jon's mind was whirling, reeling with lust and he raised his hips when she reached for the inside of his jeans. Moments before he could feel her hand wrapped around his direly in-need of attention cock, there was a loud pounding at his door.

"Ignore it." He growled against her lips, though one eye opened to stare bloody murder at the door.

When the knocking didn't stop, and became very annoying, he sighed and removed her from his lap, everything in him protesting the movement. Vowing he would rip someone's head off, Jon tore open the door, glaring down at... some man in a uniform, who was now looking squirmy. He simply held out his hand when an envelope was extended, clenched it in his fist, and slammed the door in the guy's face, staring down at it. What the hell... He ripped it open, watching the single sheet of paper that slid out.

"Where oh where did the body go?" He read aloud, frowning. "What?" His mind was lagging, still stuck in a thick passion haze.

With ragged breathing and a pounding heart, Emery overheard what Jon read from the piece of paper the messenger gave him and stood up, walking over to snatch it from his hand. "What the hell?" She echoed Jon's sentiment, reading the words for herself and immediately dropped it, looking up at Jon while they both stood there, each not knowing what to do. Just a minute ago, they'd been hot and heavy with each other and now – now all Emery could do was stare into Jon's confused still slightly smoldering blue orbs. "Colby's body…disappeared from the morgue after they took him away." She explained, stepping back a little to give Jon room and held the paper tighter in her trembling hands. "Nobody knows what happened to it either. The newspapers that published the murder said it had to be the murderer who took his body, but nobody knows why…"

At first, having something snatched from his hand tempted Jon to knock her out. That was rude as hell. "I know." He retorted flatly, staring at her, the desire fading from his eyes. Reaching down to zip and button himself up, sex was no longer on the forefront of his mind. "The bullets were removed, but he was taken from the morgue before an autopsy could be done." He had... borrowed the report directly from the mortuary itself.

Rude or not, it involved Emery and she reacted instinctively, not meaning to snatch the paper. It just…happened. She wasn't surprised at how much Jon knew regarding Colby's murder, considering he thought she did it and probably still did. What was she thinking kissing a man who thought of her as a murdering monster? Maybe this was what she needed to snap her back to the harsh reality of her life. Hadn't Emery sworn off men after what happened with Colby? Yes, yes she had and she was going back on her vow. Turning her back to Jon, Emery snatched her tank top from the floor and pulled it back on, thankful he hadn't removed her bra.

"We need to figure out who sent that note. Should've tortured the messenger since someone is now playing games with you." Low blow, Emery thought, not regretting it since Jon had given her a few over the past 2 weeks.

"No lower than making time with the potential killer." Jon shot back, fire starting to rise in his pale blues again.

What the hell had he been thinking? Just because she denied it, and had been a victim of Colby's sadism ways, did not mean she hadn't killed Colby. However, now Jon didn't feel inclined to punish her for it, much.

"I've gotten my fill of torturing people this month."

He stormed into the tiny kitchen to grab himself a beer. Setting out a second on the counter in case she wanted one or he finished this one within the next few minutes. Where oh where HAD the body gone? Emery had to keep her mouth shut because Jon was the only one who could give her shelter right now. Her blood boiled at his words, proving her assumptions were spot on. He did still think she killed his friend! Maybe coming here was a bad idea. Dealing with the paparazzi couldn't be that bad, right? Not bothering with the beer he set out on the counter, Emery went over to the corner where her duffel bag was and used it for a pillow, keeping her back to Jon shutting her eyes. The sooner Annalise and Joe arrived, the better off she'd be and the faster she could get away from Jon…and temptation. Her mind switched back to the message delivered to Jon's apartment, coincidentally while she was here. Colby's body had never been found and it'd been 7 months – why was someone dragging it up now. Jon wondered that himself since it was an odd happenstance she was here with him and now he was getting notes? It had been a month or so since the trial and longer than that since the body had come up missing. Glowering, Jon walked over to her, nudging her with the toe of his foot.

"Sweetheart, you got any other stalkers or potential kidnappers I should be jealous of?"

"Not that I know of."

Now he was calling her sweetheart? Was this man bipolar or something? Maybe had a split personality? When Jon nudged her again, Emery growled under her breath and sat up to lean back against the wall on her duffel bag, glaring up at him.

"What? What do you want from me? I told you everything I know and I probably do have assholes after me, besides you and that Samoan idiot." Emery snorted, folding her arms tightly in front of her chest and pursed her lips together. She was angry they'd been disturbed and annoyed, not bothering to hide it. "And if you think I'm still a killer, why the fuck bother helping me then?"

"Because Killer," Jon crouched down in front of her, reaching out to play with her short hair, eyes amused when she swatted his hand away. "You were justified in doing it, if you did." He was still on the fence about this situation. "So, shove aside all that pissing and moaning you're doing and think. It's been how long and I just now get that delivered? Today? While you're here with me and I rarely use this place? Seems a bit too coincidental, don't you think?"

"Yes." Emery couldn't deny it, agreeing wholeheartedly with Jon and once again brushed aside his condescending tone. She was getting used to it. "There is one thing I know and that's Colby didn't shoot himself. The papers said that was a possibility too, but there was no reason for it. Nobody knew about him stalking me besides Annalise and the police because I file for a restraining order against him. So whoever sent that messenger here more than likely knows where Colby's body is or has it. We need to track that messenger down and question him, do whatever necessary to get the truth out of him. Then go from there. And for the last time, I didn't kill Colby. Even if I wanted to, I don't have the stomach to do it or the heart or mindset. I'd be caught so fast because I wouldn't know the first thing about covering it up or what to do with the body or anything. You have to believe me, Jon." Grabbing his hand, Emery locked eyes with him and squeezed it gently. "Would you honestly have sex with someone you thought killed one of your best friends?"

"The papers are filled with idiotic bullshit and only idiots believe it." Jon dismissed, shaking his head. "I saw the body, read the file and there's no way he shot himself. The bullets went in from someone shooting him from a distance, facing him. It would have been a bit different if he had done it himself and messier at that range." He stared down at their linked hands, frowning and then looked back at her. "I don't know. We were interrupted before we got that far."

That was a bastard comment on his part and Jon mostly regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. This time, Emery took offense to what he said and released his hand instantly, feeling like a fool trying to make him see the truth. Jon saw what he wanted and that was the fact he truly believed she murdered Colby.

"Understood. You know, I think I've overstayed my welcome here and it's time to leave." Rising to her feet, Emery grabbed her duffel bag and swung it over her shoulder and slipped into her shoes, ignoring the incredulous look on his face. "When Annalise gets here, tell her I went home. Do your own investigating, I could care less anymore." Emery stormed toward the door, trembling from head to toe and refused to let the tears in her eyes fall until she was alone.

Jon had already seen enough of her tears and she didn't want to show him anymore.

"Oh no, back inside." Annalise had been a bit... surprised to find out that Joe apparently knew Emery. Even more confused watching Emery trying to exit what was definitely a low-rent apartment, her brows cocked questioningly. "You don't want to go back home, trust me." She shoved at Emery's shoulders, pushing her back into the apartment. "Um... Joe, who is that?" She asked, eyeballing Jon.

Jon knew exactly who she was and really hoped Joe did not go around telling his new friend about their extracurricular activities.

"Meet the two assholes who kidnapped me for the past 2 weeks and pretended to be me while texting you." Emery didn't hide anything from her best friend and wouldn't start now.

"WHAT?!" Annalise whirled on Joe, dark eyes narrowed to slits. "Are you serious? Are you fucking kidding me?"

What the hell had Jon done to piss Emery off now? "Look, it's a long story…" Joe held his hands up, shutting the door behind him while all 4 individuals stood in the middle of Jon's living room. "We'll explain everything…"

"Yeah I'm sure you will." Emery snorted, snatching the beer off the counter Jon had set out and popped the top to take a long swallow from it. "They think I murdered Colby."

"WHAT?! Are you two completely out of your fucking minds?! SHE DIDN'T KILL HIM!" Annalise was livid, shoving Joe away from her and immediately stood beside Emery, not believing the audacity of these two dickheads accusing her best friend of a murder she did NOT commit.

"Yeah, Killer likes to keep saying that." Jon chided with a one shoulder shrug, retrieving himself a second beer and one for Joe. "But face it ladies, her 15 hour siesta, and you both apparently being convinced she was drugged, leaves a lot of wiggle room for some midnight murder mayhem."

Joe facepalmmed himself. Jon was really in one of his moods today and he wondered what had set the man off. "Annalise, there's more to it than that." He added patiently, eyeballing Emery. She had been nice and sweet the day before, so what changed? "That time of the month?" 

Annalise couldn't believe what she was hearing, glaring at Joe's smart remark and belted him across the face as hard as she could, shaking her hand from the sting. "Let's go, Emmy. We're out of here. And so help me god, if you don't let us out that damn door, I will kick BOTH of your asses." She was a spitfire, took self-defense classes and kickboxing, ready to kick their teeth down their throats if they tried anything.

"Annalise, please…" Joe didn't want them to leave and go back to the anarchy at the apartment, knowing they would never make it through the front door without being pummeled by paparazzi. "Just stay here for the night, at least…"

"Nope, we're good and don't need saving." Annalise looked directly at Emery. "Remind me to NEVER pick up a guy in the park again." Slamming the door behind her, the girls headed out to Annalise's vehicle. "We'll get a motel on the outskirts of town and figure out what to do tomorrow. You look like shit."

"I feel like it too." Emery muttered, having tossed the half empty beer in the trash on her way out of Jon's apartment and stared out the window, trying to get the taste of him off her lips. "I could honestly sleep for the next 100 years and be blissfully happy." Goodbye Jon, she thought, letting a few tears slip down her cheeks and shut her eyes, taking deep breaths because everything that happened was slowly crashing down on her.

"So... what? We just let them walk out?"

"Trust me, it isn't a big loss. I think she's fucking insane. That woman is so bipolar..." Jon finished his second beer and crushed the can in his fist. "Forget them. We got other things to worry about." He began explaining the note that had been delivered. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Emery, what's wrong?" Annalise asked softly, reaching over to take her friend's hand. "Well, that was stupid of me. They kidnapped you, so we need to go file a report."

"No." Emery shook her head, curling up in the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I promised I wouldn't turn them in. They only did this because one of their best friends was killed and they truly believe I did it. I just wish there was a way to explain the 15 hours I missed…" Then she explained the note that showed up at Jon's apartment, not adding the near sex with her kidnapper. Annalise would slap the hell out of her for being so stupid. "Let's just go to a motel and get some sleep. They won't bother us again."

Somehow, Annalise doubted they heard the last of Jon and Joe. She also wondered if maybe she should have Emery admitted for a 72 psychiatric hold because this sounded like Stockholm syndrome. Emery was justifying being kidnapped; there was no justification. It was wrong, plain and simple.

"All right." Annalise tried not to sound skeptical.

Annalise was right regarding Jon and Joe not being done with them. It was far from over. Somehow, they managed to get back to their apartment the following day and Emery stopped at the sight of Jon sitting on the front porch steps with no paparazzi in sight. Something told her he chased them off, but Emery wouldn't assume anything.

"What are you doing here?" Dumb question, Emery berated herself mentally, not moving toward him for fear she'd end up kidnapped again. She really had nothing else to say to him and hoped his visit was quick so she could go back to pretending he didn't exist.

"Bad case of blue balls." He quipped with a grin, laughing outright when her jaw dropped, though he did duck Annalise's swing, moving out of range. He could be quick as a cat when he wanted to be. "So anyway, about that note…" He eyeballed Emery, who was still looking like she might try decking him herself. "I chased down the messenger. Kid was legit. Works for a parcel/note company, but he was hired off the books by some homeless guy. You know any homeless guy? Cause Tampa is full of them."

"No, she doesn't. Anything else, cocksucker?" Annalise demanded, stepping somewhat in front of Emery to protect her from Jon.

"Annalise…"

Emery gently pushed Annalise from standing in front of her, smiling at her protective friend and frowned in Jon's direction. Blue balls, really? It made her wonder if he was having the same issues she had ever since they stormed out of his apartment a week ago.

"I can handle this. Go on before you're late for work."

"But…"

"I promise, I'm fine. Text me on your break."

Annalise narrowed her eyes at Jon, deciding to trust Emery's instincts and hoped she didn't regret it. "If you harm one HAIR on her head…"

"He won't. Go." Emery pushed her gently but firmly down the sidewalk toward her vehicle. Once Annalise drove off, Emery felt Jon standing behind her and wrapped her arms around herself, slowly turning around to look up in his pale blues. "She is right, I don't know any homeless guys." Now people thought she hung out with the homeless?

What next?

"Next, we get you to take your bipolar meds and then you and I go find this homeless dude." Jon chuckled, taking her arms and unwound them from around herself, reading her mind. "You know, Killer, one minute you're ready to bake me cookies, the next you want to fuck my brains out and then you're railing on me like we're divorced. You always like that or am I special occasion?"

She had mood swings as wild as his and now that he had a day to reflect over everything, Jon was in a bit of a chipper mood. That and he had something to do, which didn't involve kidnapping. Maybe bribery and a bottle of scotch, but no kidnapping.

"Don't flatter yourself. And I don't need bipolar meds, I should say that about you. One minute you're on me like white on rice and the next you're calling me a killer. I HATE being called that because it's not true. And coming from you just…" Emery didn't pull away from him because it felt nice being touched by Jon again. Lord, maybe she was bipolar too! "You make me crazy, you know that? You can be really nice and sweet, but then you can turn around and be a complete asshole with the things you say and do. If you want my help, no more calling me killer." If Jon couldn't take the compromise, he was on his own tracking down the homeless guy.

"I don't know – Killer is kind of cute and pretty accurate because whenever I say it, those blue eyes of yours flash like you're considering slitting my throat." Jon drawled teasingly. "Murder could be a prerequisite of foreplay..." He let go of her and shielded his face, laughing when it looked like she was going to borrow Annalise's move and co-cock him. "Alright, I'll be nice. Maybe we both need those meds, yeah?"

"No, just you."

Emery was glad he no longer touched her because, every time it happened, her body turned to molten lava. It was bad enough her nightmares had turned into sexual fantasies with this Neanderthal! He stood well over 6 feet – if she had to guess – and his blue eyes were wild yet soft, depending on his moods. Ever since their make out session, Emery couldn't get him off her mind and it was slowly driving her crazy.

"So where is this homeless guy at? And what exactly did the delivery schmuck have to say when you tracked him down and forced the truth out of him?"

Considering her, his smirk turning into a full-fledged grin and Jon shoved his hands into his denim short front pockets, the hem coming down to his knees. He wore a beater and a pair of shades hanging from his neckline. It was hot and humid; Jon wondered why he had ever thought Florida was a good idea and why anyone would want to live here.

"You going to invite me in?" He asked sweetly, disregarding her question entirely.

It was too hot for this conversation.

Now he wanted an invite inside the apartment she shared with Annalise? Emery was tempted to deny him, but the temperature outside made her think twice about having this conversation anywhere not air-conditioned. "Follow me." She mumbled, walking inside the building and only had to climb a set of stairs to get to her apartment.

They were on the lower level, though she knew Jon was aware of that already from all the spying and stalking he'd done. Once she shut the door behind Jon, Emery walked into the kitchen needing a cold water and tossed Jon one, having a feeling he did too. They settled on the comfortable couch in the living room with Emery facing him and Jon merely looking around at everything. They were women, what did he expect to find? A blank empty space like his place? Not likely. Jon had seen inside the bedroom she had used, claimed as hers, and only because he had staked out her window a time or two. Not that he would tell Emery that. She probably had an inkling of it, stalking her; no need to remind or verify. He took in the room while sipping his water, knowing better than to chug it in this heat because he'd wind up puking all over their girly belongings.

"So, uh… is this how you would have your own place set up?" He asked curiously, eyeballing a shelf that held what looked like tiny glass fairies and other fantasy paraphernalia. Women. He did wonder if this was all Annalise or both of them. Emery was the house guest, sort of, but with chicks, who knew?

"Mostly Annalise's. The majority of my stuff is in my room since this isn't completely my place." Emery also had a storage unit, but she would not divulge that information to Jon. She didn't trust him, not yet and not so soon. "Enough with the small talk. What did you find out from the delivery guy?" They were in a cool apartment, fighting off the intense heat outside and both had H2O in their hands. It was time to talk about where the body actually was and Emery had already mentally prepared herself for whatever Jon found out. "Or was this your way of getting in the apartment hoping to get in my panties? Because I have news for you, not happening."

"Darlin', if I wanted in your panties, I'd already be in them." Jon informed her, his tongue darting out to lick the corner of his mouth and the drop or two of water he had spilled, letting his tongue swipe along his bottom lip. "Now, stop worrying about me fucking you. Time enough for that later. Delivery guy said a homeless guy; homeless guy could be one in a million or not a homeless guy at all." He was toying with her now, laughing outright when it looked like steam might come spewing out of her ears. "Calm down Killer, calm down. Homeless guy was caught on tape." Arching his hips from the couch, Jon reached into his pocket to pull out a flash drive. "Got a laptop?"

"Yeah." Emery extended her hand and waited for Jon to place the flash drive on her palm before standing up from the couch. "Follow me, I don't take my laptop out of my room hardly ever when I'm home."

Once inside her bedroom, which looked completely different from the living room full of fairies and various knick-knacks, Emery sat on her bed and fired her laptop up. She swallowed hard when Jon joined her, hovering over her shoulder and he was so close all she had to do was turn her head and their lips would've connected. No! They had to focus on finding the homeless man and worry about their burning desire for each other later.

"So, what am I looking for exactly?"

"Well, not my porn." Jon wisecracked, resting his chin on her shoulder. Her bed was comfortable, but on the small side, especially for a man his size. "We'd break this damn thing, that's for sure." He snorted, watching as she finally hovered her mouse over the video file. "That'd be it." It was only a short clip, right inside the doors of the delivery place the messenger worked for and there was the nervous little messenger, staring at the homeless guy. "I don't recognize him at all. Do you?"

"No…" Then Emery looked closer and felt her eyes slowly widen, leaning back against Jon without realizing it. His hot breath caked her cheek and neck, but Emery was in too much shock to notice it right away. "Actually, yes I do. That's the homeless guy that was sitting outside of our apartment building every day before Colby's murder. I used to give him a dollar every time I'd leave the apartment to go to work before I was forced out of my last job." She didn't want to go into detail regarding Colby stalking her because it was clear Jon still didn't fully believe she hadn't committed the crime. "Anyway, do you know where this place is? He's probably still there." Why the hell would a homeless man send a delivery man to Jon's apartment while Emery was there?

Was she being stalked by him too?

"Well yeah I know where it's at, how do you think I got the video?" Jon wasn't following her. "If this guy sat outside your old apartment building, what makes you think he's still around the messenger's workplace? I looked up and down the nearby alleys; there was nothing. No shelters either." When she didn't stop shaking, Jon gently placed his hand on her other shoulder, the one not occupied by his chin. "Calm down, we'll find him. Maybe we should go check out your old place?"

"W-What if he's the one who did it?" His touch slowly calmed her down, but her voice remained shaky, finally turning her head to lock eyes with him. The thought of a homeless guy, of all people, killing Colby and pinning his murder on her scared Emery. "I meant this apartment…" They really had to work in their communication better because she missed what Jon said and he now missed what she said. Communication issues, definitely. "It was here, Jon. This apartment is where he used to sit outside of and this is where Colby was killed…in the back. Maybe there's something in the back of the building since he set up shop there frequently."

Considering how often she had bounced around, Jon figured him not catching that one was understandable. "So let's go see if he's anywhere nearby." He suggested, resting his forehead against hers briefly before rolling off the bed and ambled towards her window. "At the risk of sounding stalker-ish and crazier than I already do, what are the odds someone other than me may have lurked outside your window? It's not exactly out on the open street, you know?"

"The paparazzi tried once and Annalise threatened them bodily harm. Then called our landlord to complain and they were told to stay on the sidewalk or else they would be arrested for trespassing."

Emery heaved a sigh, remembering that day well because the landlord threatened to kick Annalise out of her apartment. It was also the same day Emery had been arrested as a suspect to Colby's murder. Closing her laptop lid, Emery stood up and pulled the flash drive out of the USB port, handing it back to Jon.

"It's a very real possibility the guy was lurking and knew what was happening. If you know of any spots he may hang out at, you lead and I'll follow."

Jon could think of a few spots someone might use to prowl, but he wasn't an expert on the homeless. "Shelters maybe? I don't know; what do homeless people do? Drink? Beg for money?" He considered it, opening her window and stuck his head out, looking both ways contemplatively. Jon had spent some time here and he cocked an eyebrow when he peered down the end of the narrow street. "That a park back there? Across that street?"

"Yes." Emery joined him and stuck her head out as well to look in the direction he was, nodding in confirmation. "Think he might be there?"

They both pulled their heads back inside at the same time and Emery once again looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat at how tall and huge Jon was compared to her. She enjoyed being towered over, keeping her hands behind her back to stop from touching his black beater covered chest. The air-conditioner did nothing to stop her body temperature from rising exponentially.

"No harm checking it out, come on. There's a shortcut from the back of the apartment building." Turning, she headed out of the bedroom and grabbed her keys on the way, already having brown sandals on.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Shaking his head, Jon climbed out the window, scaling down the way he had come up many times before. It took a moment or two, but when Emery's head poked back out, he grinned and waved up at her. "Hurry up Killer." He was not surprised at all when she slammed the window shut, sure she had locked it up and waited. When Emery appeared around the corner, he pushed himself off the brick wall he had been leaning against, on the shaded side. "Is this a children's park or just a park?" Because he could definitely recall several times seeing homeless people in parks.

"From what I remember, it's just a park people go to do their running, walking or whatever." It was one of Annalise's favorite places to run actually. "There's no children's playground that I know of, but I've only been to it once, so…"

Emery had to deal with the fact Jon would keep calling her killer and refused to let it get to her anymore. She was honestly fighting a losing battle when it came to Jonathan Good. Maybe it would stop once they proved she didn't kill Colby once and for all. Walking side-by-side with him into the park, Emery stopped and looked around, spotting a man squatted near a tree. Jon had printed out the picture before she shut the laptop down since she had a printer hooked up to it in her room. More than likely homeless people conversed with each other, right? It was worth a shot. They had no other leads to go on currently.

"How about asking him?"

"Yeah, sure, hang back though. Last homeless guy I talked to tried to shank me."

Jon still had no idea what the implement of shanking had been, just that it looked sharp. Plucking the picture from her, Jon was not surprised at all when she refused to hang back. Killer was not so good at following instructions. He wondered if that was a new trait out of defiance and having her backside whooped a lot by Colby or the reason Colby had whooped it to begin with. Squatting down, he held out the picture to the homeless man.

"Know this guy?"

"Got money?"

"Jesus…"

Emery rolled her eyes, not believing Jon didn't start with a bribe. This was a homeless guy after all and any information he had would not be given without a price. "How much?" She pulled her wallet out and took a $20 from the sleeve, waving it at the homeless guy tauntingly. "Tell us what you know and you can have it."

His eyes followed the piece of green paper hungrily, licking his chops at the thought of having a decent meal that night for a change. "Name's Henry. Usually around these parts, but not lately."

"Henry what?"

"Davis. He works with some shady people and doesn't ask questions, just does the job he's told. I want the money now."

"After one last question." She turned to face Jon with a cool smile on her face, gesturing to the homeless man. "Got anything else to ask him, pal?"

"What's his name again?"

"Jefferson."

"Jefferson what?"

"Mike, Mike Jefferson. Can I have my money now?"

"What's he do again?"

"Street thug?"

"Sure, give him your money." Jon shook his head, eyeballing the man. He wasn't old, one of the younger ones and his face was scarred up with new wounds on it. "Smile for me, would ya?" When he did, Jon was grossed out by the truly poor dental hygiene. "Do you want us to just give you a bag of meth instead?" He jerked Emery out of the way when the guy got to his feet. "And that is why I said hang back. You are way too trusting, Killer. Find us a homeless lady, they're not all off their rockers."

"Will you-?" Emery tossed the $20 at the homeless man and watched him take off as fast as he could through the park. At least they'd gotten the truth out of him and she hadn't been ripped off. "Mike Jefferson or Henry Davis. Don't know which one is false or if both are, but we need to research both names just in case." She could've socked Jon in the mouth for the meth comment, knowing that's what set the younger homeless guy off. "We can try the city hall records and go from there. Hope you're ready to do a lot of digging, researching and reading. It could get boring after a while." Smacking his chest none too gently, Emery walked ahead of him back to her apartment building.

All Jon could do was gape at her back and had to run to catch up to her, grabbing her hand. "Emery, stop. He lied to you – LIED." He deliberated just how naïve she really was. "That guy? He was a meth head or didn't you see the sores and his teeth? That's what meth does to you." He knew from his past and witnessed firsthand how that addiction ended too. "He would have given you 100 names if we kept asking. He probably doesn't know our guy. Look, give me the paper and I'll do it. Cost you a lot less that way..."

Jon hadn't been kidding. He planned on finding a homeless woman, one who didn't keep cats, or have a mattress strapped to her back. Women tended to observe more, especially those on the streets, and were more alert of their surroundings.

"I know he was a meth head. I'm not that stupid." Emery sounded frustrated and it matched the expression on her face, worry wrinkles beginning to form on her forehead. "I gave him the money so he'd leave us alone. Like you said, homeless people aren't very trustworthy. If you think you'd have better luck without me there, suit yourself."

Truthfully, she was tired of this cat and mouse game regarding Colby's murder and Emery had to wonder if it would ever be solved. Maybe it was one of those mysteries that wasn't meant to be deciphered. What if they ended up worse off by digging further into who exactly killed Colby and took his body?

"You know where to find me if you come across anything. I'll leave the window unlocked, so you don't have to deal with Annalise."

"You should cook for me. I'll be back, say... around 6? I'll even bring the wine." Jon suggested, though when she gave him an exasperated look, he smiled. "What? All this detective work is tiring and I'm a big man. Need my food." Since someone had taken the time to deliver something addressed to him, while she was with him, he figured he was in it now. Not that kidnapping her hadn't been enough already. "See you soon, Killer." Pocketing the paper, Jon headed back to the park, wondering if she'd still keep that window unlocked.

The only thing in the apartment they had to make was tacos, so Emery made them, speculating if Jon would return with more information that night. He said around 6 and it was going on 5. One hour she had. Once the tacos were finished, everything to go on the shells anyway, she hopped in the shower and shaved all the needed areas, just in case. Emery didn't know what was happening between her and Jon, but it was something she wanted to explore further, only if he made the first move though. No way in hell she would do that a second time. Somehow, she had to learn a little self-control. Once out of the shower and freshly changed, Emery checked her phone to see Annalise was working a double shift and wouldn't be home until sometime early the next morning. Sending her a quick text back, Emery went to her room and waited, doing a little research online to see if she could find anything on those two names the meth head homeless guy gave her.

* * *

Carol was sweet and a reliable source unlike the names the homeless meth head gave him and Emery at the park. Jon felt bad about her losing her house and job all in the span of a week. Not to mention her husband leaving her for a younger piece of meat. However, not too bad because she had fleeced him good and proper, doing it while still being kind.

"So, am I out $100 or did you really play me straight?"

"I did good by you, Jonny." She stayed at a shelter at night and had to be out during the day, trying to get back on her feet, but times were hard. "Now, he stays some nights at the shelter on 5th, just a few blocks away. He wanders a lot; I don't think he's... you know, all there in the head, but not many of us are."

"Nah, you're all right. You don't even smell."

"I haven't lost my dignity yet, boy."

* * *

No luck on the two bogus names.

Emery slammed the lid of her laptop closed and flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She went back to the morning Colby was discovered in the back of the apartment building and knew it'd been combed thoroughly by the police and investigators. There were so many people on the case because it'd been a violent death.

"Colby…" Emery shut her eyes, not believing she was about to talk to the same son of a bitch who hurt and took years from her life for his sick and twisted amusement. "You are my last resort. I just…I need a sign. I need to know if…it's worth clearing my name or if I should just leave it alone and move far away. I need to know what happened to me to make me lose 15 hours of my life, during the hours of your murder. Please, if you can hear me wherever you are, help me solve this. Give me just one clue, one sign and I'll solve it. I promise." She jumped out of her skin when a bang sounded at her window and saw it was a loose branch from the tree outside, shaking her head. "Fuck you too, Lopez…"

The next bang to make her jump was Jon and he ducked because that loose branch had blown dangerously close to his head. He slid in through the window and grinned when she looked ready to have a panic attack, letting his feet hit the floor. "It's getting crappy out there, pretty sure we have a storm rolling in." Jon said by way of greeting, then sniffed the air, letting out a groan. "I really hope you held the poison because that smells fucking delicious, Emery." Poison or not, he still brought a bottle of wine, though if he had known she was making Mexican, he'd of gone for some tequila instead

"Guess you'll just have to eat it and take the risk, huh?" Emery cheekily shot back and slid from the bed, taking the bottle of wine from him. "Annalise won't be home until tomorrow morning, so we can eat in the living room and…have the place to ourselves." Unless she came home early, but Emery highly doubted it since she was covering a midnight shift at the 24 hour diner she worked at. "The plates are already out, help yourself and I'll crack the wine open."

Reaching up to grab two wine glasses from the cabinet, the peach camisole she wore slowly rode up her abdomen, showing a hint of bare skin to Jon. It matched the cotton shorts she had on, her usual sleeping attire unless she opted for a nightgown. That didn't happen often though. Jon did not miss the way her camisole rode up, showing that tantalizing flash of bare skin and shook his head, following her. He had stopped home long enough to shower and change, opting for jeans and another beater, his hair properly gelled to hold it in place.

"So, place to ourselves, huh?" Taking the time to look around, Jon really studied her room before following her, letting his eyes take in those long legs. "If I'd of known we were having a sleepover..."

"Don't get any bright ideas, Jon. You asked me to cook you dinner and that's what I did. Least I can do since you've been…helpful with this situation." Emery took her own plate and glass of wine into the living room to set everything on the coffee table alongside Jon's, snatching the remote to put background noise on. "Any luck finding information or did you come up empty?"

She didn't waste time, feeling her anxiety heightening and hoped this mystery was solved soon. Getting on with her life was all Emery really wanted to do, but how could she when people thought she was a murderer, even though she walked free from the court system? It wasn't possible.

"Hey now, no mixing business and dinner. Bad for digestion." Jon scolded, arranging his plate to his liking. Everyone termed his way of eating 'jail style' because he mixed everything into one massive lump. "Or are you that eager to be rid of me?" He eyed her shrewdly, knowing he was probably pushing her buttons, but seeing her reactions amused him. "Met a woman – Carol, nice girl. Took my ass for $100 bucks though."

Emery choked on the bite of food she'd taken and spit it back out on her plate, coughing uncontrollably. Did Jon just admit he had sex with a homeless woman for information?! "Wow, that's…wow. Okay then."

She no longer had an appetite, setting her plate on the coffee table and curled up on the couch after filling her glass up a little more with the wine he brought. Jesus, had the homeless whore given this to him too? Hopefully, the information this Carol whore gave him was legitimate or else they were back to square one.

"Just eat your food and then we'll…talk."

All Jon could do was stare at Emery like she had lost her mind. She apparently was very poor or something because she had just choked on that food, or maybe had issues with homeless people conning him. He doubted it. When she eyeballed the wine, he cocked a brow and just shrugged.

"Hey, at least she was clean and drug free, I think. She smelled all right. Unlike the meth head boy. $100 bucks a pop wasn't too bad." He observed her, waiting for any type of reaction.

Emery shut her eyes, the image of Jon taking it up the ass by a homeless woman instantly filtering through her mind and snapped them back open. "Okay – okay!" She held her hand up, stopping him from talking when he opened his mouth again. "I don't need…details, alright? Really, I can live without knowing what you did with her."

Trying not to sound disgusted and jealous at the same time failed her miserably. Emery chugged half her glass of wine and set it down on the table, curling further into the couch leaning her head back against the cushion while facing him. There was no way in hell she could eat after hearing Jon's confession with the homeless woman, not a chance.

"If you want seconds, feel free."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jon had been chewing when she said that and froze.

What he had done with her... it took him a minute to realize what she meant and Jon had to forcibly swallow down his taco slop. "Carol?" He croaked, setting his plate aside and reached for his wine glass, draining it in one go. "Wait... you think..." He didn't know whether to be amused or disgusted. "Do you think I bent her over or something? Or maybe she bent me over?" Now that was humorous. "I meant she got $100 out of me for the information, not for sex, Emery." What the hell? Where had she gotten THAT idea from? "Jealous at the thought, aren't you?" Resuming eating, Jon pondered why she would be jealous. "Just what kind of guy do you take me for anyway? Paying for sex..." He had her for that, she just didn't know it yet. "I paid her about our boy, Donnie Jones."

"Oh."

Emery was absolutely mortified and had a crimson face, keeping her eyes lowered from Jon. What could she say to him to make the awkwardness diminish? NOTHING! She was such an idiot! When he said taken, she automatically assumed that meant taking it up the ass!

"Why would I be jealous of a homeless woman? You can do whatever you want to whoever. Doesn't bother me a bit." It was a good thing nobody else was present for this conversation because she would NEVER hear the end of it if Annalise found out about this. Maybe it was time to brush up a bit on her vocabulary and street talk. "Anyway, what about Donnie Jones did you find out?"

Sure, didn't bother her a bit... Jon shrugged, busy with his food and once he had cleaned his plate, went for seconds. He ate a lot, had to maintain his gorgeous body after all. He then refilled his wine glass, and hers because he was a gentleman before resuming his place on the couch.

"Found out where he likes to sleep on occasion and gave Carol my cell number. Told her there was another $100 bucks and my ass if she called me when he turned up." Jon could not resist that jibe. "She said he's just another bum, but he doesn't mind doing raggedy work for a quick buck either."

"I'm sure she'd enjoy having your ass too along with the money." Emery retorted swiftly, slowly turning back to her normal color besides slight roses in her cheeks.

She would not let him bother her. This man had tortured her, physically, emotionally and mentally, for 2 weeks. Nope, Emery had to remain calm around him and sipped her wine thoughtfully while he finished his third plate of food. If he went for a fourth, she was demanding him to go blow the nearby gas station's toilet up because that was A LOT of Mexican food she made.

"So, do you want to go check out where he frequents or leave me behind again and do it yourself?"

"Well, sugar lips..." Jon was done, on the verge of exploding, and had gone to rinse his plate off before returning to the couch and undoing the button of his jeans, slouching back comfortably. "There's no point in checking the place out until Carol calls. I know where it's at, but if we just go poking around, he might find out and decide not to show up. Might as well wait and go when we know he's there."

He would have to give her lessons in stalking and hunting people. How did a killer not know any of this? That was simple; Emery wasn't a killer and didn't have the heart to hurt anyone unless it was out of self-defense. Even then, killing someone would take A LOT for her to do and Emery wasn't sure if she'd be able to go through with it if given the opportunity. That was just the type of person she was.

"Alright then."

What were they supposed to do in the meantime? Jon looked ready to settle in for a while, not in any hurry to leave. Why did he want to hang out with her all of a sudden? It still boggled Emery's mind at how bipolar Jon was…his words, not hers.

"You can go back to calling me killer. Sugar lips just sounds pretentious and…not me, at all."

"Yeah, I like Killer too. Sounds sexier." Jon sighed, leaning his head back against the couch, closing his eyes. "Nice to have your permission though." He would be the first to admit he had mood swing issues, serious ones at that, though they generally didn't affect his day-to-day living or how he functioned. "So Killer, how are we gonna pass the time?" He cracked one pale blue eye open, looking at her from his peripheral vision. "Love the sleepwear, by the way."

"Didn't wear it for your pleasure."

Emery had to fight back somehow, someway, because the way he currently looked at her reminded her of an animal stalking its prey. Jon was dangerous – sexy and dangerous. Getting tangled up with a man of that caliber would do nothing for her already frazzled mind. Congratulating herself for keeping a steady voice, Emery leaned up on her elbows, thankful she'd already finished her wine off or else it would've been a mess on the couch – Annalise's couch.

"It's my usual sleepwear…" She squeaked out when he pulled one of her feet closer to him, sliding her body down on the couch and began rubbing it with his strong warm muscular hands. "W-What are you doing?"

"Giving you a foot massage, that all right, Killer?"

He made sure the appendage was nowhere near his junk, just in case she was one of those ticklish people, not about to have his goods damaged. She had pretty feet, which would probably be weird to most people, not to Jon. He even knew exactly what areas to apply the pressure, watching her face intently.

"You sure you didn't wear it for me, Emery?" He asked, his raspy voice coming out quiet.

Jon was all she thought about lately, but Emery wouldn't admit that aloud. She should've pulled her foot away from him; her brain currently fuzzy from his touch. Honestly, it felt amazing. He really knew how to work a woman's body in a frenzy with her feet, so Emery could only imagine his talents elsewhere. Adding the deep low raspy tone of his voice and Emery turned to jelly, managing to keep her balance on her elbows while staring at him.

"I told you this is my normal sleepwear. Why would I worry about what I wear around you anyway?" Emery tried to inject malice into her tone, but it came out soft.

Jon admitted his bipolar tendencies, but apparently Emery had yet to acknowledge hers. He could have pointed out just the other day she had been so hot for him they had been only a few pieces of clothing away from having what would have undoubtedly been incredible sex. Emery had gotten a bit... tetchy at the idea of him and the homeless broad... nope, he wasn't saying a word and just continued with the foot massage, trying to hide his grin.

"I suppose you wouldn't." He murmured after a moment, pretty sure he could get in her panties if he really wanted to.

20 minutes later, she couldn't handle the foot massage anymore and tried pulling away from him, only to be pushed down on her back to sink into the couch. Jon hovered over her, his blue eyes cloudy and darkening with each passing second. Her hands pressed against his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the thin material of the beater. It made Emery breathless. When it came to Jon, she was bipolar because, no matter how much she wanted him to take her, she couldn't get what he did to her out of her mind. Would he hurt her again? Is all he wanted was sex? Did he truly believe she was nothing more than a cold blooded killer? Their lips were mere inches from each other and Emery waited for Jon to make the move, to just lower himself further until their mouths connected. She could not – would not – make the first move again. Jon wasn't making a move, not just yet. He just wanted to know how far he could push her before she'd say no or if she'd just give in. It'd be pretty jacked if she did, all things considered.

His animal magnetism and great body couldn't wipe away what he had done. Or maybe she was really hard up for some good sex, something he could definitely provide. Without waiting to think about it anymore, Jon dipped his head, feathering his lips against hers, testing the waters so to speak. Every part of her body trembled the moment his lips brushed hers, forcing tremors to shoot down her spine. Her brain and heart were battling against each other and Emery hated it. She knew why. Emery's past with Colby and the abuse their relationship withheld was one of the many reasons her brain was screaming an affirmative 'NO'. A soft moan slid from her mouth as she began kissing Jon back, trying to ignore the alarm bells ringing in her head to stop this. Sliding one of her hands from his chest up his arm to wrap around his neck, Emery buried her fingers in his curls and squeezed, the kiss deepening.

"Please don't hurt me, Jon." She mumbled once the kiss broke, not releasing her hold on him and could feel her heart ready to fly out of her chest from how fast it clouted.

Everything had been smooth sailing until she mumbled that line **.**

 **Please don't hurt me**.

Those pictures and videos Colby had taken and kept, leaving behind for Jon and Joe to find flooded his mind and he found himself freeing himself from her grasp, pulling back to stare down at her. She had been abused, raped and tried for murder. Hell, he had kidnapped and abused her himself, but she wasn't stopping him. All she was asking was that he not hurt her.

"Damn it..." Jon whispered under his breath, unsure, for one of the very few times in his life, what to do now.

Staring up at him in perplexity, unable to move from the couch, Emery swallowed hard, a few tears slipping from her aqua eyes. What was she supposed to say? Sorry wouldn't salvage the heated moment between them. Emery was scared to be hurt again. Was it wrong to voice her concern? Yes, she was a rape and abuse victim, but that had been over 7 months ago, besides what Jon did to her. Her throat had healed from Jon throttling her, but that fear always stayed in the far recesses of her mind he may do it again. Reaching up to touch him, Emery wasn't surprised when he flinched away from her and pulled her hand back, a deep frown marring her face. The moment had officially been ruined because of her fear.

"Jon…"

Well here he was, botching things up again. She clearly thought this was her fault, him recoiling. Technically, it was true, but at the same time, it wasn't her fault. Hell, even his thoughts didn't make sense. How was Jon supposed to explain he suddenly felt like a jackass because he was probably taking advantage of her? Or that he felt sick to his stomach thinking about the fact he was fully prepared to screw Colby's rape victim and ex-fiancée.

"It's - it's not you, Emery." He assured, wishing that would have come out less strangled.

"You don't have to explain. I understand."

Of course he felt bizarre being with her! She was his dead best friend's ex-fiancée, after all. The same man he truly believed she was capable of gunning down! Emery sat up on the couch in front of him and rose to her feet on trembling legs. They hadn't done anything and her thighs were already quaking. Good lord, what was this man doing to her?! Picking up her plate, Emery reached for Jon's and froze when his hand clamped down on her wrist to stop her, their eyes meeting again.

"Sorry, were you finished because I was gonna clean up."

"Yeah, I'm done."

Jon was about to stop her because she didn't need to wait on him. He didn't want her feeling like she was his slave, victim or... whatever anymore. But this was just good manners, her being a gracious hostess in an awkward situation.

"Sorry." He let go of her and stood up, moving out of her way. "I'll help clean up if you want."

Placing the dishes in the sink, Emery rinsed them and took the ones Jon handed over, doing the same thing. Most of them would go in the dishwasher, once she decided to empty it. The uncomfortable awkward silence between them was too much for Emery to handle, so she said the first thing that popped in her head.

"I want to trust you, Jon." She turned to face him, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Believe it or not, I do think you are a good guy and the kidnapping stunt was a last resort for you. I remember how freaked out you were when you throttled me and I know that's one of the reasons you left the house for a day. I didn't miss the regret in your eyes and I see it now. I just…" It was hard to explain how she felt to a man because, more than likely, Jon didn't care about her a lick and only wanted to find the truth regarding Colby's murder.

Well, she was inadvertently doing a great job of making him feel like a piece of trash. "You're too trusting, Killer." He demurred, falling back on the nickname, though without any heat and eyeballed the counters, looking for something to do once they were done prepping the dishes for what looked like an eventual trip into the washer. "And you're wrong. Kidnapping was the first. If I'd been a bit smarter, I would've found that tote of shit sooner."

"Would you just take what I say for what it's worth? I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry for ruining the moment and you're not making it easy."

Emery sounded frustrated once again, turning back to open the dishwasher and began putting the dishes away, slamming them in the cupboard none too gently. Not hard enough to break anything…yet. It was the only way to keep her from attacking Jon, ripping his clothes off and throwing caution to the wind about all her doubts and fears. Then she stopped, looking at him through slightly narrowed aqua eyes and shook her head.

"You still believe I did it, don't you? Somewhere in that pea-sized brain of yours, you still think I'm capable of murder."

"See... and now I'm glad you ruined the moment." Any last vestiges of desire drained away at the pea-sized brain comment. "I think everyone is capable of murder, under the right conditions and pushed to extremes. That's just a simple fact of life, darlin'; we're all nothing but animals. Do I think you killed Colby? It varies with my mood."

That comment made her desire quickly replace with rage. "You know what?" She slammed the dishwasher door shut and started it, shaking her head. "This was a mistake. All of it. Get out." Emery stalked past him and ripped her arm away when he tried grabbing it, pointing at the door. "Don't let it hit you on the ass on the way out. If you come back here again, it better be with news regarding Colby's body. Other than that, I do NOT want to see you, asshole."

Storming down the hallway to her room, Emery didn't give him the chance to respond and slammed her door shut, flipping the lock on it. She locked the window to make sure Jon couldn't get in and shut the blinds and shades before collapsing on the bed in darkness, burying her face in a pillow screaming. Jon was tempted to break down her door, not having a good reason for it other than he was irrationally pissed off.

"You say that now, Killer. You're going to miss me." Jon was outside her door now, hand splayed against the wood and scraped his fingernails down it slowly. "I'll see you soon, Emery. Bank on it." He left her with those parting words, deciding for now discretion was definitely the better part of valor.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

2 weeks passed by since Emery kicked Jon out of the apartment and told him not to come back unless it pertained to Colby Lopez. Nothing – not a peep – came from him. Emery preferred it that way and decided she was done trying to solve the mystery. She had to gain control of her life again somehow and forget about him. Annalise, on the other hand, was slowly giving Joe a second chance and he was good about not mentioning Jon whenever Emery was around. Joe hadn't hurt her during the kidnapping, not physically anyway. Emotionally and mentally, yes, because of the home videos of Colby. It wasn't anything she couldn't forgive. Hell, Emery forgave Jon and he was too stubborn to just accept it. He had to piss her off to the point where she forced him out of her life. How much she missed him reflected in her mood and Annalise noticed it, suggesting running as an outlet. Emery had to work out her frustration and feelings instead of ignoring them. Eventually, she would blow up at the wrong time to the wrong person and Annalise didn't want to be the recipient.

Leaving the apartment for the first time in 2 weeks, Emery shoved the earbuds in her ears and went for a run through the park, just needing to clear her head. She had managed to get 30 minutes into her jog and passed through a relatively shady area when Jon stepped into her path, reaching out to catch her to keep her from plowing into him and knocking them both down. He began laughing when she started freaking out, wrapping his arms around her to keep from getting decked and waited until she calmed down somewhat before tugging the earbuds out of her ears.

"It's just me, Emery, calm down." Maybe not the best way to pop back into her life, but Jon wasn't normal.

"Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me!" She wheezed out, breathing heavily from the jogging and being scared nearly to death. It quickly dawned on Emery his arms were wrapped around her body to where her arms were pinned at her sides. "W-What are you doing here, Jon?" Emery demanded, once she slowed her heart rate enough to where it wouldn't burst or combust.

How did he know she'd be in this park of all places jogging at 10 AM in the morning?

"Stalking you, if it wasn't obvious." He retorted with an easygoing grin, pale blues hidden behind a pair of sunglasses as he stared down at her.

Not bothering to release her because he was rather comfortable touching Emery again. She shouldn't be surprised by the stalking admission; he had kidnapped her after all. Jon was quite familiar with some of her habits, though running was new. He had a feeling Annalise was the culprit, wondering if she was insane to allow Emery, a mild celebrity in the Tampa Bay area, to go out by herself jogging in shady parks.

"Carol called and our boy is staying at the shelter tonight. He had to sign up to reserve a cot. Up for a visit later tonight?"

No, she wasn't surprised he knew exactly how her routine went, the running added to it as of today. He was stalking her again and didn't bother hiding it! Why the hell was he bothering her at 10 AM when they couldn't go meet this homeless person until later tonight? Emery would never figure out Jon's madness to his methods. Or methods to his madness. She broke away from him and stepped back a few feet to put space between them, planting her hands on her hips.

"Fine, but you'll have to pick me up since I don't have a car yet. What time should I expect you?" Keeping this professional between them was the only way she'd get through working with Jon without making another sexual advance toward him.

"Now is good. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving. Watching you wore me out, darlin'." Emery was trying to be all formal with him and it wasn't working. Kidnapper, captive, all formality was gone. "You like breakfast? I love breakfast, let's go do breakfast." Slinging an arm around her shoulders, Jon destroyed the notion of maintaining distance quickly. "You still pissed about the other night?" It'd been 2 weeks actually, but Jon had been busy and time seemed to fly by.

"No…maybe…I don't know. It's whatever at this point." Emery muttered, shrugging his arm off of her and groaned when Jon did it again.

Inviting him back to the apartment to eat breakfast was a bad idea and would lead to things happening between them she wasn't close to ready for. So, they went to a local diner down the road from the apartment. Emery's head spun while Jon treated her as if they were long lost friends and sat in the booth in front of him, trying to understand this man's thought process. He was a puzzle – one she wanted to crack desperately. What the hell was going on? They hadn't talked in 2 weeks and the last words she said to him weren't nice – at all.

"Did you take a happy pill or something?"

"I took my Prozac, yes." He countered cheekily, which was a lie.

Jon already knew he had a mood issue and didn't need a shrink to tell him that nor did he care to be on happy pills. However, if it made her feel better, he would tell a little white lie to keep the peace between them. He perused his menu, grinning when the waitress sauntered over and proceeded to order enough food to feed a small army. Jon had worked out this morning and was starving. Then watching her running... he had an appetite going; two of them to be precise.

"What do you want, darlin'?" He asked when he was done, looking over at Emery and cocked a brow at her stunned expression. "What? I'm a growing boy."

"I don't care how big you are. That is A LOT of food."

Jon had basically ordered everything off the breakfast menu the diner had to offer. Was he insane? That was a dumb question to ask herself. Emery shook her head while he piled his plate with a bit of everything and hesitantly started doing the same to hers. Her appetite wasn't as large as Jon's, nowhere near it actually. In fact, seeing him again had her stomach in knots, if she was honest.

"So…how've you been?" If he was being civil with her, Emery would be the same to him and noticed he called her darling instead of killer.

"Busy. Been working."

The bills did not pay themselves and kidnapping people, plus all the technology that had gone into that little project, had been pricey. Eventually, Jon would have to sort out his living situation and find proper employment instead of using temp agencies. Once again, he mixed everything on his plate, finally satisfied and reached for the syrup, drowning the food in it.

"Oh hey, coffee... want me to pour you a cup?" The waitress had been kind enough to leave a carafe. "How've you been? Stalkerazzi leaving you alone?"

"No, but they are starting to slowly taper off a little. I was shocked to find none of them lurking outside the apartment when I left for my jog." Emery held her cup up while Jon filled it, having him stop because she liked a little coffee in her creamer. "What?" She raised a brow after dumping 10 creamers in the coffee and saw the look of pure bewilderment on Jon's face. "So, when you're not torturing people for a living, what exactly is it that you do?" Emery was curious about him and it showed, a smile curving her mouth while he chomped on some bacon.

"Wait, let me get over the fact that you have more creamer then coffee in that cup..." Jon held up a hand, staring at it. "And you were all slack jawed over my food? Woman, you are nuts..." He shook his head, preferring his coffee black and bitter, without additionals. Sure, he had syrup for sweetness, but that was as far as his sweet tooth went. "And right now, I'm playing the jack of all trades role for some temp agency." Shrugging a shoulder dismissively, Jon knew he was pretty skilled, but hadn't decided yet on what he planned on doing after this. He couldn't take on a proper job when he might be called away for the Colby/Murder/Emery Drama that was becoming his life. "Mostly down at the docks; some shady fugs down there, let me tell you."

"Is that all you work for and associate with? Shady people?"

First the homeless woman, Carol, and now dock work dealing with more questionable people. Emery didn't want to know the details, setting her coffee down and ignored his comment on how much creamer she used. Annalise razzed her about it too. She took a bite out of the eggs and suddenly realized how hungry she was, enjoying the taste of food this diner offered.

"These are the best sausages, here taste." Emery reached over with a link on her fork and held it up to Jon's mouth.

Even though he had his own sausage, Jon leaned forward and took a healthy bite, letting his lips wrap around the fork and freed a rumble of approval. "Mmm... delicious..." She hadn't been kidding and he licked his lips, glancing down at his own mountain of food, pretty sure he had buried his own under the eggs and hotcakes. "And no, I don't. I do legit work. I can't help that shady shit happens around me." Or sometimes caused by him.

Moving out of the booth, Emery shoved Jon over and slid in the same seat as him, pushing his food in the middle of them both on the table. "Thank you for breakfast." She reached up to wipe the corner of his mouth of some syrup and popped the finger in her mouth before taking a sausage link between her fingers. "You're sharing this food with me and then coming back to the apartment so we can work our issues out. I missed you."

She smiled warmly up at him, not ashamed of that confession and hoped they could remain this way instead of being cold towards each other. Fighting with him nearly debilitated her. Jon eyeballed her suspiciously, her last words to him along the lines of not letting the door hit him in the backside on his way out. Apparently Emery had taken her happy pill too.

"Define working out our issues." He ordered, staring down into her beautiful aqua orbs full of mystery. She was the strangest woman he had ever met and Jon had known quite a few eccentric women in his time.

"I don't know, but we obviously have issues with each other." Emery pointed out, taking his fork after Jon had a bite and popped a piece of bacon into her mouth from the plate they shared. "I'll start first. I'm sorry for what I said the last time we were together. I was upset for ruining what was going on and took out my stupidity on you. I don't know what's going on between us, but you were right. I did miss you and I don't want you to go away again. So don't, and I'll do my best not to take what you say offensive anymore." It was the best compromise Emery could come up with.

"Okay, Emery, let's get this straight: You didn't ruin what was going on between us, not knowingly anyway. It just..." He sighed, setting down his fork, wondering how best to explain it. "You said don't hurt me and it made... well... You were abused and worse by that jackass," Jon paused, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone because the jackass had been his best friend. "And then after what I did, kidnapping," Obviously he said that one very quietly. "You, and... stuff, I felt like I might've hurt you or was taking advantage."

"Yes I did, Jon. Don't you get it? Everything that's happened, including Colby's murder, is my fault. It's all because of me." Emery tossed some money on the table she pulled out of her pocket and stood up, looking back at him. "Thanks for breakfast. See you tonight."

Emery wanted to be left alone to reflect on the past 7 and a half months. So much had happened and it was overwhelming, slowly breaking her down. Instead of jogging, she slowly walked back to the apartment and managed to keep the tears at bay, feeling more vulnerable than ever. Maybe she did need Prozac or some kind of happy pill because, one minute she was happy to see Jon and the next she wanted to get away from him.

Jon sat there, staring at his food and her money, wondering how they had gone from having breakfast to her walking out on him. Sighing, he pocketed her money, planning on returning it to her later and resumed eating. His appetite was still there, though the desire to eat was fading. All of it was her fault…He would've agreed with her at one time because he had honestly believed she killed Colby. Maybe he still did believe it, but Emery would've had reason. Maybe Jon should get her some happy pills or happy juice. Nothing a good drunk couldn't fix. He'd give her the rest of the day to get her head sorted and do some sorting of his own.

* * *

Pacing back and forth in the living room, Emery wore black skinny jeans and a black short sleeved top with black boots on her feet. After what happened with the other homeless guy at the park near the apartment building, she wasn't taking any chances tonight. It didn't matter if Jon was friends with the homeless woman who gave him the name of the homeless man possibly linked to Colby's murder. Her head snapped to the side when a knock sounded at the front door and hesitantly walked toward it, looking through the peephole seeing Jon waiting. She opened the door, already having keys and wallet in hand, refusing to carry a purse. Not tonight.

"Ready to get this over with?" Emery asked, closing the door before Jon could step inside and locked it, leading the way out of the building.

She really was bipolar. First, they were fine this morning, then they weren't because of what he had thought had been him explaining his feelings badly, but turned out to be her having a guilt fest. Now she was subzero and chilly. This woman had his head whipping so much back and forth Jon considered suing her for whiplash. He was in nondescript everyday clothing, idly wondering if she was in a dour mood or just liked dressing like a potential spy. Black clothing with her brown pixie cut was on the hot side.

"Whoa Killer, take a minute." Jon caught her hand once they were outside, stopping her on the sidewalk. "We're going to a homeless shelter, so... keep it calm and polite until we find the guy. And even then, he might not know jack shit. This is just a lead, all right?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Aqua eyes looked at their hands linked and then moved up to meet his, letting him pull her closer. "I understand." Emery murmured softly, shying away when Jon tried caressing her face and released his hand, taking a step back. "We should get going before it gets any later."

The chemistry and fire between them was intense, but Emery had to keep him at arm's length. They didn't trust each other and she would not sleep with a man who didn't trust her. Sex required trust from both parties and that was something neither of them had. Spotting the truck Jon dropped her off in and then rescued her moments later, Emery stopped at the passenger door and waited for him to open it. Jon could have just opened it with a click of a button, but instead opted for the more chivalrous approach and walked around, unlocking it holding the door open for her. He even helped her up into the cab, knowing a lot of people didn't care for the oversized trucks, but Jon was an oversized man. Once he was seated behind the wheel and they were on the road, Jon felt relatively more at ease. The shelter wasn't all that far from where she lived and, because Jon was naturally a suspicious person, if this guy was anything besides just some unfortunate messenger, he would've been in a perfect position to spy on every move Emery made.

"So... feeling better?"

"No." Emery admitted softly, rubbing the back of her neck and kept her eyes staring out the window. "I meant what I said, Jon. So you can stop trying to befriend me when I know you don't believe a word I say. Keep your friends close and enemies closer, I know how it works. Once my name is cleared, you can move on with your life and I'll move on with mine and we can pretend we never met."

Truthfully, that was the last thing she wanted to happen, however, it was the only scenario she saw happening between them. Meaning what she said earlier, Emery did feel like everything was her fault. Colby had gone off the deep-end because of their relationship or something regarding her.

"I don't know why I bother trying to figure you out, woman. One minute you're hot as hell and setting me on fire, the next you're the biggest ice queen I've ever met. You've got me so damn twisted..." Jon shook his head, still trying to understand how a friendly breakfast had gone from them sharing a plate, a seat even, –he had even tried explaining his reaction to her words during their last make out session- only for her to suddenly push him away. "Fine, I give up."

"Good, at least we agree on something then."

Emery knew her actions were questionable lately when it came to Jon. Hell, she kicked him out of the apartment 2 weeks ago, only for him to come back and take her to breakfast. He was just as confusing as she was! It hurt what he said, but Emery couldn't deny the truthful words either. Maybe they were both crazy and needed happy pills. She felt the same things Jon did – the fire between them, but whenever he called her killer, it bothered her immensely. It made her think he still thought of her as a murderer and how could Jon have sex with someone like that? Again, the trust issue. Jon pulled up to the building and Emery slowly looked over at him, wondering what was going through his mind.

At this point, Jon became accustomed to calling Emery 'killer'. It was a nickname and she was stuck with it now. Maybe she had killed Colby, maybe she hadn't, but he didn't doubt for a second that Emery wasn't capable of murder. Anyone was under the right circumstances. He cut the ignition and turned in his seat after undoing his seatbelt, looking past her at the shelter. The building had dim lights inside through the windows that had bars on them. Jon knew shelters tended to go on lockdown at a certain hour. He was also fairly sure he'd get in since Carol knew they were coming. He surveyed her, wishing for a second Emery wasn't gorgeous because she would draw unwanted attention to them.

"Just... don't wander in there, okay?"

"What is it?"

Emery saw the hesitation in his eyes and raised a brow as his eyes gave her a slow onceover. She looked down at herself, not seeing anything out of the ordinary besides the color black. It confused her and, the fact Jon didn't answer her question, made her more exasperated, forcing Emery to rub her temples.

"Fuck this."

Stepping out of the truck, Emery shut the door behind her and leaned against it, waiting for Jon to decide what he wanted to do, if he even wanted to confront this homeless guy or simply answer a simple question. Actions like that made Jon understand why Colby had turned into an abuser. Shaking his head, Jon slid out of the truck and walked around it, standing directly in front of her.

"You're gorgeous and, while some of these people are just like you and I, only down on their luck, others are in this position for a reason. Drugs, crime... whatever. And some of the men in there might... make a pass at you or something." Or something involving touching her; Jon had a feeling he would have to break a few fingers. "Not everyone who goes into a shelter is homeless. Sometimes it's just a hood looking to hide."

His compliment made Emery's cheeks flame up in color, eyes averting to the ground and kept her hands behind her. "Do you want me to stay out here then while you handle it?" She asked quietly, almost in a mumble and folded her arms in front of her chest.

Why did he have to make her whole body engulf in flames? Everything about Jon from the top of his curly auburn blonde hair to the tips of his slightly rugged black boots turned her on, her thirst for him growing. With the thirst and lust came hesitation and fear of what would happen if they did have sex. Surely a relationship couldn't be built out of this shambolic situation, right?

"If I would've known, I could've worn something more inconspicuous or maybe a little…dirty…"

Jon smiled at that, wondering if she really thought her clothes were the issue. Well, maybe with how tight they were, showing off her firm and delicious supple body, but it was just her in general. Her face, hair, the way she moved, her voice... maybe he was projecting his own thoughts into this situation now. There was no denying she was a stunning beauty though.

"You're fine and if anyone tries anything... I'll be right there." To smash their face in, Jon added in thought. He reached out to pull her hand out from behind her back, lacing his fingers through hers and began heading for the shelter. "Let's get in and out without a fuss." And hope this wasn't some wild goose chase, otherwise he and Carol would have a chat about his $100 bucks.

One thing was certain, Jon was extremely protective of her. It showed in his posture and the way he held her hand, enjoying their fingers laced together. Did Jon care about her or was he using her to find out the truth about Colby's murderer? At this point, Emery didn't care, not pulling away from him and stopped outside of a backdoor that opened for them. It was a homeless woman on the other side, her hand swiftly gesturing them inside.

"Quickly now!" She hissed, closing the door once they were in and looked up at Jon, eyes giving him a scan. Carol couldn't help it; Jonathan Good definitely was a fine piece of meat. "He's here, but I don't know how long. Be quick about it, Jonny."

"Jonny?"

"And she likes to call me lover boy." Jon shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk curving his lips.

Carol was nice and not crazy. They had a little weird friendship going on and he made it abundantly clear he was not interested in sex or any sexual favors she might consider offering. Jon headed in the direction Carol had pointed, mindful of the fact they were not supposed to be here and, if they were caught by the people who actually ran the shelter, they were going to need an excuse or have to hightail it out.

"There he is." Homeless messenger guy was sitting at a table, slurping what looked like soup, all by himself. "Ready?"

Emery froze in her tracks, swallowing hard at the homeless man sipping his soup obliviously and looked up at Jon. "I-I know him. I-I mean not personally, but…that's him. That's the guy who was always waiting outside of the apartment prior to Colby's death." She kept her voice low, only loud enough for him to hear and began trembling violently, never once releasing his hand. If this man did it, for whatever reason, her name would no longer be tarnished, but they had to play this right. "Go, I'll wait here with Carol." Both women nodded in agreement. "You know how to do this, I don't and…I trust you to do it."

"I'll be right back."

Jon hoped this would be a simple open and shut matter. That this guy would be a lucky bastard who had made a quick buck just delivering a message. But Emery confirming that she had seen Mr. Donnie Jones loitering outside of the apartment, prior to Colby's death, well... that was just too coincidental for Jon's liking. He sat down opposite Jones and smiled when the other man looked up.

That was a shark like smile, all teeth and no humor. "What the hell do you want?"

"Just to chat."

* * *

"How do you know lover boy?" Carol had to ask, knowing she had no chance with Jon with this attractive woman hanging on his arm. "Been together long?"

"We're not." Emery kept her distance from the homeless woman, leaning against the wall and tried listening into the conversation with Jon. She couldn't hear anything. "How long have you known him?"

"Mmm several years now. He helps me when I need it and I do…favors for him. Nothing of the sexual kind, unfortunately." Carol noticed the slight relief on the woman's face and rolled her eyes. "I take it you're interested in him?"

"No of course not." Emery blatantly lied. "We're working together to solve a problem and then will go our separate ways."

Carol didn't buy that for a second. "Probably for the best."

* * *

"Don't know Colby Lopez." Donnie mumbled around his spoon after listening to the guy, Jon, say his piece, eyeballing the picture in front of him. "Don't know her either."

"You're lying." Jon sing-songed, laying the two pictures, one of Colby and one of Emery, side-by-side. "Come on, tell me the truth."

"I know her. She's the one in the news, right? Killed her man."

"Donnie, someone paid you to pass along a message... and you've been seen outside of her place, before Lopez bit it. Now, who has you on their payroll?"

Donnie ignored Jon, going back to eating his soup, only to start sputtering when he wound up wearing it moments later and gasped, jerked across the table by the front of his tattered shirt. "I don't know! They just leave money for me... and notes to deliver!"

"Now we're getting somewhere."

* * *

"Dear lord, Jonny is hot when he gets fired up." Carol fanned herself, gesturing for Emery to come and watch the action unfold. She made sure to sexual satisfy the guards so they wouldn't bother Jon, not that he needed to know that. "Has he always been that built?"

"I don't know…" Emery's eyes widened at the sight of Jon yanking the homeless man, Donnie, around like a ragdoll on the table in order to get answers. She admitted, only to herself, it was incredibly hot to see him in action and felt her panties dampen.

"Now look me in the eyes and tell me that man isn't delicious."

"He's not." Emery tried pulling her eyes away from Jon and couldn't, tilting her head when the man ended up with his head literally between his legs. "That doesn't look very comfortable…"

"Not supposed to."

* * *

Granted, Jon was probably roughing Donnie up a bit too much, but Donnie wasn't exactly being all that forthcoming with his information either. "Now, start from the top..."

Donnie did, though his words were coming out muffled because he was basically talking to his own dick.

"My bad." Jon unfolded the other man, his pale blues alight with malicious amusement. "Now, what was that?" He smirked when Donnie rattled off the information again, this time audibly. "I should make you show me. I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Donnie reached for his neck, pulling out a leather cord from under his shirt. Attached to it was a key. "This is the locker key. I check it every few days and it has stuff in it for me."

Jon took that key.

* * *

"What did you find out?" Emery asked as soon as Jon was in earshot, keeping out of eyesight not wanting the homeless man to spot her. She caught a key he popped in the air and looked at it, frowning thoughtfully. What the hell would they do with a key?

"You looked sexy roughin' him up, lover boy." Carol purred, sliding her hand down his arm and shivered at the muscles rippling against her touch.

Emery was nauseous. "Can we leave now?"

Jon eyeballed Carol and then Emery, shaking his head. "You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"You know I can't." Carol began laughing, covering her mouth with her hands and shook her head. "You get what you needed, lover?"

"I'm not leaving empty-handed." Jon took the key back from Emery and slipped it into his pocket, reaching out for Emery's hand. "Thanks Carol."

"Anytime Jonny, anytime."

Shaking his head, he led the way out, eager to get the hell out of this place before Carol either tried conning him for more money or propositioned him again. Once safely outside, Emery hopped into the truck, never wanting to leave a place so badly in all her life. She felt dirty stepping foot in a homeless shelter, as bad as that sounded. Emery was better than those people and would never allow herself to be put in this type of predicament again, no matter what she had to do. There was a strip club down the street she would apply to if no other jobs surfaced, but Annalise didn't need to know that yet. If it meant showing her body off in order to survive, Emery would do it. The only thing she refused to do was prostitute herself out.

Emery had SOME standards after all.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"So what happens now?" Emery asked quietly, folding her hands in her lap and looked over at him, noticing Jon was deep in thought about something.

Probably whatever he discovered from Donnie.

"Now, we go open a locker at the train station and see just what exactly Donnie's been up to." Jon answered after a moment. "He said he checks it once a week or so, has been for... months."

Months didn't seem accurate, but that was what Donnie stuck with, swearing his very life on it. But Emery had said she saw Donnie outside of the apartment before Colby had died. There were no coincidences, not when it came to this, to her or to Colby's murder.

"Someone leaves him instructions and money. It sounds like Donnie was just a middleman and we want whoever is pulling his strings."

"The puppet master, not the puppet." Emery murmured, moving her gaze to stare out the window again and rested her forehead against the cool glass.

Whoever was instructing Donnie to keep tabs on her or deliver messages had to be Colby's murderer. What if they were walking into a trap? The last thing Emery wanted was to be responsible for another death because she couldn't stop sticking her nose where it wasn't wanted or needed.

"Jon wait." She grabbed his hand after he parked in the train station lot, panic filling her aqua eyes. "L-Let me go and you stay here. I don't want anything happening to you. Whoever this asshole is, they're smart and no doubt Donnie has contacted him by now. If something happens to you because of me…"

"Yeah, because I'm really gonna let you waltz in there by your lonesome." Jon shot back sardonically, shaking his head and, while he didn't outright roll his eyes, it was definitely implied. "Look, the message was addressed to me, so... deal with it. I am officially part of this deal. Besides, what makes you think Donnie did anything? He's a coward; he'll probably try to ride everything out without saying anything unless he has to. Come on, let's go see what Donnie is hiding. It'll be fun." He grinned at her, already opening the driver's door to step out.

"But…"

Emery groaned when Jon jumped out of the truck and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, wanting to strangle him for not listening. If she didn't go with him, he could get himself killed and it would be her fault! Hopping out of the truck, Emery jogged across the street and slowed to a walk next to Jon, shaking her head.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a stubborn ass?"

"And you need to stop trying to corner the market on martyrdom." Jon countered, looping his arm around her waist and whistled loudly. "Being brave and being stupid don't need to go hand in hand, Emery."

The train station wasn't as busy at night as it was during the day, but it was definitely more on the shady side. And she wanted him to stay back because a gorgeous woman in the night, by herself, wasn't asking for trouble at all, right? WRONG! They stood at the elevator and waited, needing to go up to the second floor where all the lockers were located. Once inside, Jon pressed the button and Emery leaned against the wall, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I'm trying to help you, jackass. Excuse me for not wanting your blood on my damn hands." Emery grumbled, shoving away from him only for Jon to yank her back against his side, folding her arms in front of her chest in a huff. "You're a control freak too, anyone ever told you that one?" She was still angry from what he said.

"See, your problem is thinking that anything you say or do is going to affect what I say or do. It doesn't, therefore, nothing of mine is on your hands and, if anything goes wrong, what happens to me is on me." Jon shook his head, staring at her, and when she refused to meet his stare, Jon crossed the little space between them and gripped her chin, forcing Emery's head to raise. "Look at me."

Emery obeyed and felt as though Jon's pale blues pierced her soul, the intensity in them taking her breath away. She swallowed hard, not having anywhere to go and wanted to hold her hands up to stop him from pressing against her. Instead, she merely stood there with pursed lips, doing her best not to crumble into dust at his feet or show weakness.

"I am looking at you." She muttered softly, the dinging of the elevator jolting both out of the moment.

Stepping to the side out of the way, Emery walked off the elevator and waited for Jon to join her before they made the trek to the lockers. They were not finished with this conversation, not by a long shot, but Jon could put business first. Pleasure second. He procured the key from his pocket, examining it and then looked up at the signs directing which way they had to go to arrive at the lockers.

"This way." He tried to remember if he had ever been up here before. Caught a train, sure, but Jon never really bothered with anything else. "You want to do the honors?" Jon offered the key once they were in front of the locker.

"Really?"

The offer surprised Emery considering Jon had been the one to beat the truth out of Donnie. She couldn't pass this up and took the key from him, cracking an appreciative smile. Slipping the key into the slot, Emery took a deep breath turning it and heard the lock click, removing the key to hand it back to Jon. Here goes nothing, Emery thought, trying not to heighten her hopes more than they were already. Opening the locker door, Emery reached inside and frowned, looking up at Jon in sheer disappointment.

"It's empty. There's nothing…"

"You're kidding me, right?"

Somehow, Jon wouldn't have put it past her to pull something on him, try to get him out of this situation before his blood wound up on her hands. Silly woman. When she moved so he could see for himself, he cursed, standing up and raking a hand through his curly hair.

"Well I'll be damned..." He took in the locker, eyes scanning the bottom of it and then frowned. "Shelf." Jon reached behind her head, feeling around and grinned. "Something." He pulled out a small tin box that'd been hidden.

Emery breathed out a sigh of relief when Jon pulled out the tin box, looking up into his eyes. This was it. This would hopefully be the next step in finding out who was responsible for Colby's murder and body disappearance. One step closer to clearing her name once and for all. Maybe then Emery and Jon could both get on with their lives because they'd have this closure.

"Open it." She urged, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice and failed miserably, eyes glued on the tin box as Jon lifted the lid of it. "Oh my god…"

"Wow... this is... boring and mildly creepy."

Pictures of Emery, a lot of pictures, and little postcards. The kind a person could buy right here in this very station. Jon began rifling through the tin box, reading them. All of them contained very short concise instructions and he finally held them out to her.

"Recognize the handwriting at all?" Jon asked, frowning when he seen something flash at the bottom of the tin, reaching into it to pull out a man's ring. "Or this?"

"That's Colby's." Emery took the ring from him, trembling from head to toe and didn't think she'd ever see this again, sliding down the lockers until her knees hit the concrete flooring. Her eyes never left the ring. "The one…that matched mine. They were a set and, when he proposed to me, he had the rings for us. A little untraditional, but I didn't care. I loved him and wanted to marry him. And then, shortly after I moved in, he became a monster. Why couldn't he just be the man I fell in love with instead of trying to give me the world when all I wanted was him?" Pressing the ring against her chest over her breaking bleeding heart, Emery let Jon sift through the rest of the tin box, shaking her head when he asked again if she recognized the handwriting. "No, I don't. I wish I did so we can solve this."

Jon had heard the tears in her voice and tried not to keep looking down at her. She looked so sad, distraught, sitting there on the old marble floor, clutching that ring to her chest. He wasn't sure what he was looking for at this point and just closed the tin, though he didn't bother sticking it back in the locker. It was coming home with them. Frowning, Jon crouched down in front of her, wondering what exactly Colby had done to make this woman love him and why he turned into a psychopath. It was so hard to wrap his mind around and Jon wasn't sure if he wanted to anymore.

"Any idea why that'd be here?" He asked quietly, gesturing to the ring.

"He must've had it with him the night he was killed."

That was Emery's best guess, willing the tears to stay in her eyes and slowly looked at Jon, not releasing the ring. She didn't care if it was trespassing; this was a piece of Colby she would always keep with her. It was all she had left of him since their pictures and memories had been destroyed because of the abuse and rape.

"Please tell me you believe me now. P-Please tell me you believe I didn't kill him."

Emery craved to hear those words from Jon and felt a single tear slip down her cheek, stuffing Colby's ring in the pocket of her jeans. Jon hesitated, watching her stuff that ring in her pocket. If she had murdered Colby, she had gone through some serious chaos just to... what? There was no point to any of this, at least not from her perspective, if she were the murderer. Not unless she enjoyed attention whoring.

"No." Jon finally made up his mind, meaning every word that came out of his mouth. "I don't think you killed Colby."

A waterfall of tears exploded out of her eyes and cascaded down Emery's cheeks upon hearing Jon's revelation, covering her face with her hands. It'd been a long time coming, but finally someone other than her lawyer and Annalise believed she didn't kill Colby. For over half a year, 7 almost 8 months, Emery lost her life because of these horrible accusations and her life had been turned upside down. Jon was the first man she found attractive since Colby – Emery hadn't been with anyone else. The heartache of his murder was still fresh, but Emery's love for the man himself was gone. It had been for a while.

"Thank you, Jon." Emery wiped her tears away, rising to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling chilled suddenly. "What do the messages say?"

"Nothing I can make out right now. Just... instructions." Jon fumbled in his pockets for a bandana or something, not surprised when he found nothing. "We can look at them somewhere else. Let's get out of here, Emery." Almost hesitantly, he reached out to wrap his arms around her shoulders, leaning forward until his head was nearly touching hers. "I'm bringing the tin. I'll come back later this week or something, see if anything new pops up."

From his understanding, Donnie didn't have contact with whoever was employing him. He just waited for said employer to contact him. Not pushing away from him, Emery left the train station with Jon and held his hand all the way back to the apartment, tears finally subsiding. This was an exhausting night and Emery was on the verge of passing out, resting her head back against the seat. Her eyes moved down to the tin box, wondering if they would be able to make sense of the clues within. Colby's ring told Emery the murderer had ripped him off and kept it in the box as a mind game to Donnie. How did Donnie know Colby though? She couldn't quite figure that out. Pulling up to the back of the apartment building, Emery looked at Jon and squeezed his hand, wanting to trust him with every fiber of her being.

"Are you coming up or are we done for tonight?" She asked quietly, unfastening the seatbelt with her free hand.

"I'll at least see you to your door."

If Annalise was up there, she'd try taking his head off or something. She was copasetic with Joe; they were now knocking boots, but she did not like Jon at all. Not that he blamed her, he was a dick.

"You going to be all right?" He asked unobtrusively, knowing seeing that ring in some beat-up tin box owned by a homeless man had knocked Emery for a loop or several.

"Yeah, at least we have some clues to nail this son of a bitch."

Emery slid out of the truck and felt Jon take her hand again, this time leaning her head against his shoulder. They walked up the stairs and stopped outside of her apartment door, Emery pulling away from him long enough to pull her key out of her purse. Emery could feel her stomach tighten, especially when she reached up to brush a curl from his forehead.

"I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you, Jon." Those pale blues captivated her in ways Emery didn't understand, not bothering to solve the puzzle right now. "Despite you being hit on by a homeless woman tonight, I enjoyed spending time with you."

One part of Jon's brain was reminding him of this morning and how breakfast had gone – how she had gotten trippy with him and now they were fine again. "Wait... are you jealous of Carol?" That just rang with him and he grinned, shaking his head. "Don't be. You're my one and only." And Carol, while amusing, was not his type. He would always know where he stood with her. Besides, Jon preferred... wild cards, kind of like dark haired pixie cut Killer here. "Okay, I'll stop being an ass." He apologized when he realized his teasing was probably not that humorous to her. If only Emery could see in his head, she'd find it funny. "I'm glad we – uh – had a good night, but for our next date, dinner and a movie?"

"You consider sneaking into a homeless shelter and then going to the train station a date?"

Now Emery was laughing, shaking her head at Jon's grin and fingered his strong chin between her fingers. Did he just ask her out on a date or was he screwing with her again? Emery could never figure out when Jon was being sarcastic and serious, the line extremely thin between the two.

"Sure, bring the booze and flick, I'll cook." Opening the door, Emery reached up to hug him around the neck and kissed his cheek, pulling back after a few lingering moments. "Good night, Jon."

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaning against it with a smile on her face. What was happening between her and Jonathan Good? That had been a brilliant date as far as Jon was concerned. Considering he had kidnapped her, abused her and now they were playing their own weird version of CSI, the communication was the only downside to their potential relationship. Jon would definitely bring the booze though next time since she wanted to stay in.

Grinning with a kick in his step, Jon headed out of the apartment building, whistling. 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Jesus Christ, Emery!"

Annalise had not planned on being home, thinking she'd be working another double shift. Imagine her surprise when it had been pulled out from under her feet. She just stepped out of the kitchen with a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and seen Emery leaning against the door. Emery jumped, not expecting Annalise to be home either and clutched her chest, surprised her heart hadn't leapt out from being startled.

"Goddamn you scared me!" Emery yelled, not loud enough to hold an angry tone, just surprised. "What are you doing home?"

Eyeballing the Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Emery knew something bad happened and lead Annalise over to the couch, listening to her spill her problems. It was the least she could do since the woman let her stay here free of charge until she could get on her feet. Emery decided not to tell Annalise about hanging out with Jon or searching for Colby's murderer, not wanting to worry her best friend any more than she already had.

"Everything will work out, Anna, you just gotta be patient."

"I know..." Annalise had gotten up long enough to retrieve a second spoon, sharing her pint. She could be generous with the ice cream, her hips not needing all of it. "For months now, they couldn't find any extra help and I had all these shifts, which were a pain in the ass, but the money..."

She had needed it, not that she blamed Emery for anything because she didn't. Emery hadn't asked to be put into this situation and she was trying to get her life back on track. Annalise completely understood and was willing to give her best friend enough time to find a job, knowing it would be difficult given her past prison term. Innocent or not, her record would speak for itself to employers and a lot of them would slam the door in Emery's face, unfortunately.

"Maybe I'll just become a stripper. What do you think?" She smiled, not realizing Emery had the same thought process going on.

"Actually…" Emery smiled back a little sheepishly and twiddled her thumbs, chewing her bottom lip. "I was thinking about going down the street to the strip joint and seeing if they needed any dancers. I've applied everywhere and nobody will hire me. I know they will though because I've received several phone calls from them already." Annalise dropped the spoon in the ice cream carton wide-eyed, both women knowing they were in deep trouble if the bills kept piling up. "We can do it long enough to get ahead and look for jobs in the meantime. Joe doesn't have to know, if that's what you're worried about." She wouldn't tell Jon either.

"Joe could definitely not know. He'd flip his shit." Annalise agreed, after regaining use of her tongue, hardly believing Emery actually thought about this.

Becoming a stripper and taking her clothes off for money. She could just see a club snatching Emery up and putting her on stage. The woman was a knockout beauty and would be a major draw. Exploitation at its finest.

"You – you wouldn't worry about them using... you know, the murder and you being dragged through all that bullshit to build you up?"

"At this point, I have no choice and, if I have to use the murder to make money to survive, so be it. I will not prostitute myself out though. I draw the line there."

The less Jon knew about this the better and they could always have their 'dates' whenever she wasn't working. If they were even dates. Why was Emery worried about a man who wasn't hers anyway? She had to start helping Annalise pay the bills before they were evicted and put on the streets, stuck in a hopeless situation like Carol.

"Tomorrow we can go down there and find out what schedules they have available and make sure we're on the same one. That way, we can watch each other's backs."

"Oh yeah, I'll watch your back all right." Annalise teased and then looked down at herself. "I wonder if I could even do that, really. I mean... the upkeep alone..." She shaved only on nights she knew she had a date or was expecting Joe. The beauty process could be time consuming as hell. "I'll worry about that after we find out what's what. Now..." Annalise tucked her legs beneath her, shifting on the couch. "Where were you?"

"Out, needed some air. Went for a walk to clear my head. I haven't slept well lately."

There was no way she could tell Annalise the truth because her friend would freak out and demand her to stay away from Jon. That wasn't happening. Emery wanted Jon and enjoyed being with him, still remembering how his mouth felt against hers.

"I ended up seeing a movie too and met up with Layfield to discuss the press bugging me. He said he'll help stop it as much as he can, but can't make promises. Kinda figured as much." It was all lies and Emery was surprised how smooth they all flew out of her mouth. "So what's going on with you? How's the Samoan?"

Annalise had been about to tell Emery the press was entitled to say and bother as much as they wanted because, sadly, there were laws protecting them. Also, laws to protect victims of the press were few and far between. It really was ass backwards since the people being harassed were the ones who needed protecting, not the media vultures. However, when Emery mentioned Joe, Annalise instantly flushed crimson red and lowered her eyes to her lap.

"He's good. We're taking it slow-ish." Honestly, Annalise felt horrible falling for one of the guys who had kidnapped her best friend. "I still have issues with what he did to you. I know you said you forgave them – him, but sometimes I just feel like scum of the earth being with him."

"You shouldn't." Emery placed her hand over Annalise's with a soft smile. "I know what they did was against the law, but you have to put yourself in their shoes. What would you do if it was me that was murdered? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to find the truth? Because if it was you, I would do it in a heartbeat. What Joe and…Jon did was only for their friend who was murdered. They thought it was me and did what they did to get the truth out of me. So stop feeling guilty and scum of the earth. I don't hate them and have forgiven everything; you should do the same."

Annalise considered that. "I would rip this city apart trying to get justice for you." She admitted in a quiet voice. "I know it makes me a hypocrite, being unable to just let it go when I would do the same thing, but... it's because I love you, Emmy. You're family." She leaned over to hug Emery tightly, tears stinging her dark eyes. "However, that Jon... He's... I don't know. I just don't like him; the few times I met him, he just... there's just... he's off in the head. I don't know how else to describe it."

"And I'm not?" Emery remarked with a snort, leaning back against the couch chuckling ruefully. "I'm the one who still mourns my ex-fiancé's death, even though he beat the hell out of me and raped me for months on end. You talk about being 'off', you don't get much more 'off' than that, Anna. Just promise me you'll stop holding a grudge and move on. Be happy with Joe. He likes you and has my approval because, in spite of what he did, he wasn't the one who harmed me physically. Jon did. He's a good guy and will protect you. I get that vibe from him. Give him a chance and I guarantee you won't be disappointed." Yawning, Emery stood up and stretched her arms up in the air, suddenly feeling bushed. "I'm going to bed and you should do the same. Maybe we can get a good night's sleep for once."

"Maybe." Annalise agreed doubtfully, standing up as well. "Emery, what you said about Colby... I know it doesn't make sense, but at the same time, it does." Emery would probably always harbor guilt over Colby being murdered, even though she was innocent. "You loved him and we all know love just doesn't go away as quickly as it should. I'm rambling; I must be tired." Smiling slightly, she went to the kitchen to throw away the now empty ice cream carton and put the spoons in the sink. "Get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be... interesting."

* * *

Stripping at night wouldn't be so bad and they would make a lot of cash, all under the table of course. That's how most strip joints worked out. Plus whatever tips they made depended on how much they showed of their bodies. Their first night was tomorrow and the owner gave them an allowance to purchase stripper outfits. After spending most of the morning shopping, Annalise had to go work at the diner for her afternoon shift and Emery went home to grab a few hours of sleep. She would need it since the strip joint didn't shut down until 3 AM. Walking up the stairs to the apartment, Emery tried pulling her key out of her purse and groaned when she dropped it, turning to pick it up off the step.

A dirty hand reached out and grabbed the key first.

"Give back my stuff!"

It was Donnie, who was indeed a coward, but he hadn't seen Jon today. He'd watched and, when Emery came in alone, he could handle one measly woman. What was she going to do to him?

"I want my stuff!" He roared, lunging forward to shove her into the door harshly. "I know he gave it to you! Where's the tin?!"

Because if that tin box wasn't at the train station in the locker, no more notes would come and he would be out of cash, needing the funds to survive. The door crashed open since her hand landed on the handle, both of them stumbling inside with Donnie landing on top of her. The bag of stripper clothes went flying behind her, Emery doing what she could to push him off. It was no use; he was a lot stronger than he looked.

"GET OFF OF ME! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Emery's shriek was met with a backhand across the face for her troubles and she held her cheek, tears leaking from her eyes. The pain was excruciating and Emery knew she would be heavily bruised from the attack. Turning on her stomach, Emery tried crawling away from Donnie, only to have her face planted roughly in the carpet before being pushed down, her pants starting to be removed.

"NO! STOP IT!"

Donnie had originally just come for his personal property. But that bag of hooker clothing had gone spilling out and... She really was a slut. He had known it. Woman like this hanging out with the men she did, going to places like a homeless shelter... she was one of those teases, who begged for trouble.

"Thievin' whore!" He shouted, getting her pants as far down as her shoes, his eyes taking in her panties and creamy toned legs. "Takin' shit that don't belong to you, shakin' your ass! Look at you, begging for it!" He was now straddling her thighs, reaching out to grasp her neck, keeping her pinned facedown.

Raped. She was going to be raped again in the apartment where she felt the safest! There was no safe place on planet earth for her. Emery attempted to push up on her hands to buck him off of her, but it was no use. Donnie was far too strong for her, just like Colby had been. This wouldn't be the first time she'd been ass raped, though it was an experience Emery NEVER wanted to relive again. There was no point screaming out because nobody would come to her rescue and, even if they did, most would simply ignore it. Fighting him would only harm her further too. Shutting her eyes tightly, Emery felt the pressure of his hand around the back of her neck and hoped he somehow knocked her out so she wouldn't be conscious for what was about to happen. There would be no knocking her out because Donnie liked to hear a woman scream or gasp in pain, whichever. She didn't live in the nicest of places; he doubted anyone would think twice about some loud noises coming from this apartment, especially since she was apparently a whore anyway.

* * *

It was the flash of metal on the ground that caught Jon's eye. He had been coming over to check in with Emery, knowing last night had been hell for her finding Colby's ring. It was just a key. Shrugging, he pocketed it and headed up to the apartment, hoping Emery was home.

"Scream for me, you little cunt!"

Emery refused to do it, her hair balled up in Donnie's tight fist and head wrenched back dangerously. One false move and he would rip it clean off her shoulders, she was sure of it. She was bare naked from the waist down, forced on her knees and her ripped panties were somewhere near the front door. Keeping her eyes closed, Emery bit her bottom lip hard and didn't make a sound, knowing this was going to hurt. She'd already told him no and he didn't listen; her vocal cords would not be used for this.

"I SAID SCREAM!" Donnie roared, sliding his half-hard cock up and down the crack of her backside, licking his hips hungrily. "You'll make this so much easier if you just give me what I fucking want!"

Once this was finished, Emery silently hoped Donnie would end her so she didn't have to live with the fact she'd been raped again.

Jon overheard the roar outside the apartment door and what he walked in on made his blood boil. The door lock had been broken, like someone had slammed against it or fallen and that key in his pocket suddenly felt like it was burning a hole through his jeans right to his flesh. He would bet money it was the key to Emery and Annalise's apartment. Emery, his Killer, was on her hands and knees, half naked, with that homeless bastard Donnie preparing to sodomize her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, a red tint washing over everything, his vision hued with bloody tones. Jon didn't say a word. He simply walked up behind Donnie, hearing and seeing every word and action. It all fueled the very deadly rage that was taking over him. Donnie let out his own scream of agony when he was suddenly ripped upwards by his own hair, feeling his scalp giving under the pressure.

Falling face first to the carpeting again, Emery no longer felt the hand on her neck and scrambled away instantly, watery bloodshot eyes staring back at Jon beating the tar out of Donnie. His face planted against the wall, then the other, a few pictures falling crashing to the carpet. Luckily, the whole apartment besides the kitchen and bathroom was carpeted or else there would be a lot of broken belongings. Emery snatched the blanket folded on the couch and draped it over her lap, the tears falling nonstop. Her whole body trembled from head to toe, no longer caring about the stripper clothes laying all over the apartment. All she focused on was breathing and trying not to hyperventilate, laying down feeling dizzy from the tight grip Donnie had on her hair. Her eyes closed while Jon continued beating on him, hoping this was all one big nightmare she'd wake up from soon.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Beat was too kind a word.

Jon was silently, with deadly precision, committing a murder right in front of Emery. Every blow he struck was purposefully aimed, maximizing the damage and he struck areas that would inflict the most agony while also providing a sure death. For example, Donnie could no longer scream because Jon had plowed a massive fist right into his larynx, so the noises Donnie currently made were only heard by dogs. When Donnie was maybe two good head shots away from death, Jon let him go and turned to survey Emery, eyes deceptively calm while assessing her.

"I'll be back." He informed her, reaching down to grab Donnie by what hair remained in his skull and began dragging him outside.

There was a dumpster that would hold the near lifeless man for now until Jon took him off somewhere, like the docks, for disposal. Emery slowly opened her eyes in time to see Donnie's feet dragging across the carpet in the hallway outside the door. She wanted to move and lock the door, somehow making it to her feet. Besides having her panties ripped off, her face smashed into carpeting, giving her rug burn and her hair nearly being yanked out of her skull, Emery wasn't too worse for wear. That was until Emery felt her cheek, remembering vaguely being backhanded across the face. No doubt her face was black and blue by now with a thick bruise forming. Great, makeup wouldn't be able to cover it up. After locking the front door along with the deadbolt, Emery made her way into her bedroom to pull out some fresh panties from her drawer. Then she hopped in the shower to scrub her body from head to toe with steaming hot water, the pain in her head and cheek mild compared to what was going on in her psyche.

Jon was not at all surprised the door was locked when he returned, confident he had decapitated Donnie with the lid of that heavy metal dumpster. Both body parts were inside of it, that was all he cared about. Murdering someone in the day and getting rid of the body was tricky, even if the dumpster was in a secluded alley and empty, so he was guessing trash had already been picked up for the week. He'd come back once it was dark outside and handle the rest. Since he couldn't in the conventional way, Jon went in through her bedroom window, hearing the shower running and sat down on Emery's bed. He then got up and headed to the kitchen to rinse off blood and whatnot from his hands before returning to her room to wait. The anger hadn't left yet, but it was slowly subsiding, knowing he hadn't gotten to her in time; she had still been brutalized. Stepping out of the bathroom, after brushing her teeth and gargling for a minute straight with mouthwash, Emery walked into the bedroom, jumping at the sight of Jon sitting on her bed. Her eyes went to the window and then back to him, clutching the towel to her body tighter.

"W-What are you doing here?" She stammered, walking past him to the drawer to grab a bra and tucked the undergarments against her chest.

Emery felt him stand up and stop behind her, every part of her body trembling from head to toe. His hands reached out to touch her shoulders, making Emery jerk instinctively and turned to bury her face in his chest. Being scared of Jon was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. She'd almost been raped again, the memories of Colby doing it piercing her mind. Hot tears hit his chest, soaking the front of Jon's t-shirt and Emery wrapped her arms around his waist in a death grip, sobbing uncontrollably. If he hadn't been here and stopped Donnie…Emery shuddered, trying not to think about what would've happened. Jon doubted telling her that Donnie would never hit or attempt another rape ever again would make her feel better. He had seen her face, how bruised it was and the position Donnie had her in. Jon had to stop replaying what he saw in his head before it set him off again.

"I've got you, darlin'." He soothed, pleased when his voice didn't come out icy and kissed the top of her head, rubbing his hands up and down her back soothingly. "You're safe now, Emery..."

Eventually, Emery settled down and didn't mind Jon moving them to lay on the bed with her arms remaining around him. "My arm's asleep." She murmured against his chest, feeling him lift up and moved it, the tingling sensation exploding up her arm.

Emery couldn't look up at Jon, feeling ashamed for not fighting Donnie off more, but she'd been pulled in a time warp from Colby's rape. He used to demand her to be quiet or he would beat her with his leather belt, so Emery trained herself to stay quiet during the sexual assaults. It was better than being beaten with a leather belt every time Colby raped her. Jon didn't need to know the gruesome details from her past with Colby; nobody did.

"Thank you for being here, Jon. You saved me and…I'll never be able to repay you for it…"

"You don't have to and you shouldn't."

Emery shouldn't have to worry about being raped by homeless bastards in her own apartment either and Jon was mentally cursing himself out. He should have been more careful. Someone like Donnie... the man was a coward when it came to bigger and badder people, but when it came to defenseless prey, he attacked. Jon should've seen it coming and been here or just outright snapped Donnie's neck and save her a boatload of grief. He knew what Donnie had been preparing to do, but he didn't know if that had been the start of it or just... part of something that had already happened.

"Did he...?" 

Emery shut her eyes and shook her head, feeling Jon's fingers run through her hair. Once again, the tears started and she hated it, not wanting to cry in front of him anymore. He'd seen enough of her tears to last both of them a lifetime.

"H-He called me a whore." She whispered painfully, her throat incredibly sore from briefly yelling and being throttled. It was a good thing he hadn't choked her out from the front or else her larynx would've been bruised. "Said I was asking for it because…of what I had with me…"

Maybe becoming a stripper wasn't a good idea. Annalise could do it, but Emery was already planning on changing professions after nearly being raped. Who was to say it didn't happen while she showed off her goods to other men?

"I-I'm so stupid, so fucking stupid…"

"Because of what you had with you?"

Jon was confused, raising a brow down at her. He didn't notice the contents spilled on the floor because his attention had been firmly fastened on Emery and Donnie. Then he had been a bit... absorbed in killing Donnie for touching his Killer.

"The tin?" He assumed that was what she had been talking about and kissed the top of her head. "You're not stupid, Emery... and anything that prick said doesn't mean shit." Donnie was dead. "He's gone now, darlin'; he can't hurt you anymore."

"Not that." Emery pulled away from Jon, wrapping her arms around herself and realized she was still in the towel from her shower. "I-I need to get dressed, then I'll show you."

Slipping from the bed, she pulled out some clothes from the drawer and dressed in front of him, keeping her back facing him so he didn't see her private areas. Once fully dressed in a long sleeved shirt and pants, Emery pulled her hair out of it and gestured Jon to follow her, both of them padding down the hallway. Emery stopped, looking at all of the stripper clothes surrounding the living room and couldn't believe how bad the bag exploded.

"I-I have to return them all. All of this needs to go back today. When I called myself stupid, I really meant it, Jon. This is why Donnie attacked me, because he thought I really was a whore…"

It took Jon a few moments to realize some of these tiny little garments were stretchy material and he picked one up, pulling on it to see just what it was. It looked like... a body stocking. He began studying the rest of the stuff and finally understood what she meant by calling herself stupid.

"Emery, the clothes don't make you a whore." He reasoned, wondering why the hell she had bought herself all these... outfits for. If they could even be called that. "That wasn't a greenlight for him to do what he did."

"Considering I was willing to show my body off in order to pay the bills, yeah it kinda makes me one." Emery remarked, pulling a garbage bag from under the sink since the kitchen was right off the living room and began stuffing all the clothing in it. She would not tell Jon about Annalise because he would tell Joe and the Samoan would probably blow a gasket the size of Florida. "Fuck it, I'll find a job somewhere else. Nearly brutalized and almost raped was a sign not to do this. I don't need any other signs." She still would not meet Jon's eyes, feeling like scum of the earth for allowing Donnie to have his way with her.

Why hadn't she fought him off as hard as she could? 

She was going to... strip for money? All things considered, Jon would usually have cracked a joke, but respected that decision. Strippers needed love too. However, Emery, as a stripper, dancing for fat wealthy sleazes... he didn't like that. Jon was going to burn in hell because now – now he felt just the little bit of a hint of dark happiness at her 'sign'. Pushing that aside, he focused on her, watching her toss the clothing in the garage bag.

"The bills that bad here?" He asked quietly, crouching down to help her and reached out to touch her wrist gently when she wouldn't look him in the eyes. "Emery?"

"Because of me, yes."

She kept her eyes on the bag and bit her bottom lip at the sight of his hand on her wrist. Jon wouldn't hurt her, right? Granted, he had before, but that was because he believed she killed his best friend. Now, he believed she didn't do it and had saved her from being raped when he could've easily walked away from it.

"I was stuck behind bars for 6 months and lost my job. Annalise has been covering everything and I can't find a decent job anywhere because nobody will hire me. They all think I'm a murderer. So I figured stripping was a last resort. But no, I'd rather live on the streets than show my body off. I-I'll figure something out, just need a little more time. First thing though, gotta drop these off to the shop I bought them at and tell the strip club I changed my mind."

"Are they gonna let you return those?"

Jon knew most places accepted returns, but for those kind of clothes... he was doubtful. He hadn't realized how awful her situation was until now. Honestly, he hadn't really cared at first and then afterwards... well, it never crossed his mind. He just assumed she was like every other tax paying citizen with a job. But she made sense, who was going to hire a woman that may or may not have killed her boyfriend? Jon didn't think she had, but public opinion varied and, unfortunately, mattered.

"I'll go with you when you're ready to return them." He offered, reaching out to cup her chin. "Look at me, Emery."

Slowly looking up at him, Emery felt her breath hitch in her throat staring into his beautiful pale blues and let Jon pull her closer to him. "I want to go today. I was supposed to start tonight and I'm not doing it. I didn't wear the clothes and I have the receipt, so they are refundable." First, she would have to cover up the bruise on her cheek caused by Donnie's backhand and then Emery could go out in public. "The money I get from the clothes has to go back to the strip joint since they footed the bill for them." Another reason she had to go to the strip club itself to resign from it. "Are you sure you wanna spend time doing errands with me?"

"Yeah."

Not a chance in hell would Jon leave her alone in her current state. Emery was clearly in no condition to be left alone. This woman had the worst luck of anyone he had ever come across. Hell, he was probably part of her bad luck; nothing good had come so far from them crossing paths, not for her at least. In some jacked up way, her getting beaten up and nearly raped was... his fault. Jon traced his fingers gently along her bruised cheek, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Emery."

"Please don't blame yourself for this. You couldn't have known he'd come after me." Emery reached a hesitant hand out to cup his strong face in her hand while he continued stroking her bruised one delicately. "You saved me. I'm okay and nothing worse happened because of you."

Pressing her forehead to his, Jon's arm wound around her waist to draw her closer. In spite of being nearly raped, Emery didn't mind Jon's touch and fingered the back of his neck where his curls rested. Instead of kissing his mouth, she brushed her lips against his cheek and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his strong neck closing her eyes. However, Jon should have known and didn't agree with Emery. He had called Donnie's character right down the middle, but instead of acknowledging that a coward would attack a woman, Jon had brushed it off and figured Donnie would stay the hell away out of fear of retaliation. Pure arrogance on Jon's part and Emery had paid the price. He sat back on the floor, pulling her with him and just held her, letting her play with his curls, feeling her face pressed against him.

The strip club owner wasn't happy with Emery bowing out, though one look at her bruised face immediately made the dollar signs vanish from his eyes. He took the money from the clothes and sent her on her way, hoping she was doing the right thing. Emery knew deep in her heart she was, especially after the attack. It was 90 degrees outside and she had a long sleeved shirt and jeans on, covering as much of her body as possible. Once back at the apartment, Emery changed back into a night shirt and pajama pants, sending Jon home because she had to talk to Annalise alone. She couldn't hide the truth from Annalise any longer, even if Jon destroyed her attacker and killed him. At least, that's what Emery wanted to believe, but one could never be sure. Once Annalise walked through the door and spotted Emery on the couch, more importantly her bruised face, she rushed to her friend's side demanding to know what happened. Through sobs and tears, Emery came clean about everything, including all the time she spent with Jon lately.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

All Annalise could do was sit there and stare at her best friend, feeling a million emotions raging through her and trying to sort through them. Emery had been hiding so much from her and Annalise understood why she had done it. Really she did, but at the same time it hurt. She definitely understood Emery wanting to clear her name, though she did not get the Jon factor at all. There were so many more questions, but right now... Emery needed a hug more than a third degree, so Annalise simply hugged her. Emery clung to Annalise for dear life, hoping this didn't ruin their friendship because Annalise was the only one who believed her throughout her whole trial.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about any of this." She pulled back to look in her best friend's eyes, wiping tears away from her own. "I didn't want you involved because you've already been through so much with me. And I figured if I could clear my name once and for all, maybe this town wouldn't look at me like I'm going to steal their children or murder their loved ones. As far as Jon goes…" Watery aqua eyes lowered to the floor, Emery wrapping her arms around herself. "It's not Stockholm Syndrome. And I know he hurt me when he kidnapped me, but…you gave Joe a second chance and…I like him. I don't know why, but I do."

"Honey, it wasn't me Joe hurt and you know how hard of a time I have trying to accept Joe and the shit he did to you." Annalise pointed out gently. From her understanding of things, based on Joe and Emery's account, the main antagonist had been Jon. That did not relieve Joe of any of the responsibility, but it'd been Jon's idea to kidnap Emery. "If you want me to give Jon a chance for you, then I will. But Emery, it just... doesn't it seem odd all these things that are happening? Why now?"

Was it because of Jon?

"Well the trial just ended and whoever did murder Colby probably wants to clean up loose ties." Emery summarized, leaning her head against the couch cushion, heaving a sigh. "Trust me, Jon wants to figure this out as much as I do. He wants to find out who murdered one of his best friends, even if Colby was an abusive dick. He knows what Colby did to me, by the way." That surprised Annalise and Emery explained how he found out, the box of pictures of her she ended up destroying. "This tin box we found is a clue though and now that we have all the plans – orders – whatever you wanna call them, we can be one step ahead of the murderer."

That was just another load of information for Annalise to shift through and the main thing she was taking from this was Emery being in further danger. Jon and Joe had kidnapped Emery, believing she was guilty of the murder and gone out of their way to torture her. Now, Jon believed Emery wasn't the murderer, knew about Colby's past abuse towards Emery and was helping Emery to clear her name while also hunting for his best friend's killer. It was a lot to wrap her mind around, honestly.

"How do you know you're one step ahead, Emmy?" She asked softly. "What if you're not, then what?"

 _What if you're not, then what?_

That question burned in Emery's brain long after Annalise had left to start her new job at the strip club. Against better judgment, she was doing it because it would bring in the money they needed to survive and give Emery longer to find a halfway decent paying job. She lay in bed staring at the window with the curtains drawn closed, trying to rest her uneasy mind. Annalise made a valid point; what if they weren't a step ahead of the murderer or whoever was the owner of the tin box? Then what? What were they supposed to do? Would they ever find the murderer or was it better to give up now instead of risking being put further in danger? The last thing she wanted to happen was Jon getting hurt because they were digging further into this mystery.

* * *

Jon steered clear of Emery, giving her time to recover and sort herself out. He knew she probably didn't want anything to do with him right now. Hell, he didn't blame her. If he hadn't taken her to that homeless shelter, to that station afterwards with the locker... hell, Jon shouldn't have roughed up Donnie the way he had because the man had retaliated the only way his kind knew how to. By attacking a defenseless woman. Well, she had witnessed him murder Donnie, so he imagined that was counting against him too. Another thing he wouldn't and didn't blame her for. Jon had accused her of murder and then what happened? He did the same goddamn thing!

A week passed…then another…another after that…and before Emery knew it, a full month went by without any sign of Jon. She knew he blamed himself for her attack and, no matter how hard she tried convincing him otherwise, it fell on deaf ears. So she tried pushing him out of her mind the best she could and began living her life again, applying for countless jobs throughout the Tampa area. Just when it seemed like everything would go back to normal, besides Annalise stripping on a nightly basis, Emery received another 'gift'. The box was left outside of her apartment door, no messenger and when she opened it to pull out a strand of ebony hair, Emery flew to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach.

It was Colby's hair.

"That's it..." Annalise grumbled after hearing Emery run to the bathroom and went to check on her, getting a very garbled explanation and then seeing the hair.

It was her one night off, stripping was not an easy job. Sure, the movies made it seem easy, but there was actually a lot of... physical stuff that was included and not sexing it up, but the dancing. Taking her clothes off was turning out to be the easiest part of this job.

"We have to call someone." She knew Emery hadn't seen Jon in quite some time and, from what Joe had told her, Jon had been miserable, hiding out in his apartment away from the world. "Want me to have Joe bring…Jon over?" She offered, rubbing the inside of her arm tentatively.

"There's nothing he can do." Emery wiped her mouth off, stumbling out of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. "Jon has tried everything to find this sick bastard and Layfield has no leads either. We're never gonna figure this out, Anna. Never."

Breaking down, Emery dropped to her knees in the bathroom doorway and covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking violently. It was bad enough Jon had alienated her and now the murderer was playing games with her, sending her Colby's hair in a packaged gift. It was sickening. Maybe it was time for a move – somewhere her past couldn't find her or Colby's murderer.

"I don't know what to do anymore…"

"Hey, hey..." Annalise kneeled down with her, wrapping her arms around Emery gently. "You're not alone in this, Emmy; you've got me. And John... and Jon." She preferred Layfield, but... Emery seemed to trust and care about Joe's lunatic best friend, so she was making the effort. "Why don't we get out of here for the night, hmm? We'll go rent a hotel room, whatever you want." At this point, moving was a viable option because, whoever was screwing with Emery obviously knew where she lived, who she lived with and more.

Definitely time to move.

"Do we have the money for it?" Emery whispered, watching Annalise nod and wiped her tears away, feeling nauseous from the 'gift' she received. "I know you miss Joe, so call him…and tell him to bring Jon. I'll keep him company while you get your freak on with your man." She cracked a small smile at the blush creeping across her friend's cheeks and kissed her forehead, rising to her feet helping Annalise up. "I'll go pack; you do the same and make the call. Meet you out here in 15."

Shutting her bedroom door, Emery had to wonder if Jon would even show up and decided to bring the 'gift' with her just in case. Sure they had the money for it, Annalise was making serious tips at the strip club. The actual pay rate itself was hourly and minimum wage. It was the tips that was the serious bank. Once she had gotten over being shy and feeling dirty about showcasing her body off the way she did, Annalise had found she really did like making this kind of money. It was a security thing, something they had been lacking for quite some time; a financial net. It'd wind up drained if they moved, which she was thinking they'd have to, but that was quite all right.

20 minutes later, the girls walked out of the apartment and Emery stopped at the sight of Jon and Joe waiting for them outside, her eyes moving up to Annalise. Having them meet here before going to the hotel was dangerous. She was too tired and mentally drained to berate Annalise, aqua eyes moving to where Jon stood. Jesus, he looked delicious as ever in a black t-shirt and blue jeans with holes ripped in the knees, his curly hair hanging haphazardly over his eyes with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth. She wanted to be that cigarette. Joe immediately went to Annalise while Emery took the few steps to close the distance between her and Jon, rolling her suitcase behind her. Considering Annalise had zero experience at all when it came to this... relatively dangerous lifestyle Emery and Jon had going, it was probably a good thing Emery was too tired to voice her thoughts. Annalise was simply winging it and trying to do the best she could. She let Jon and Emery have their moment while she and Joe put the bags in the back of Joe's SUV.

"Hey."

Emery looked like she'd been rundown repeatedly and he meant that as nicely as possible. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping well and the woman was already thin; she would be borderline skin and bones if she didn't start taking better care of herself. Jon took a deep drag from his cigarette before flicking it away, blowing smoke out his nostrils before taking a step towards her. He reached out to finger her hair, which was very slowly growing.

"You're looking... great."

"You're lying, but thank you anyway."

Emery cracked a small smile, not pulling away when his finger wrapped around a strand of her dark hair and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. A nervous tactic, hard habit to break, especially around him. Jon made her feel breathless just at the sight of him and that was incredibly dangerous. She reached up, brushing curls from his forehead and could see the dark circles under his own eyes.

"You're bunking with me tonight so Joe and Annalise can have some time alone. Hope you don't mind." Taking his hand, she started toward Jon's truck while Joe and Annalise already took off in Joe's vehicle, knowing they would soon follow. "Besides, there's something I need to talk to you about after we get something to eat."

"So we're skipping the small talk?" Jon teased, using his own fall back habit, which was joking around. "No hi – how are you? How have you been? I'm fine, by the way. How about you?"

Helping her up into the cab of his truck, Jon did not wait for her answer and shut the door, slipping behind the wheel moments later. Obviously something had to happen tonight, especially for Annalise to call Joe up and actually request _his_ presence. The moment his Samoan friend mentioned seeing Emery, Jon didn't care why and was onboard, missing her more than he was willing to admit.

"Sorry, didn't mean to come off cold or anything." Emery apologized as soon as they were on the road headed toward a hotel of Annalise's choosing.

She could care less where they went as long as they were away from the apartment. A couple days would hopefully make this entire situation blow over. Emery doubted it though, trying not to think about the piece of Colby's hair someone left outside of their apartment door.

"And you can lie to a lot of people and get away with it, but you can't bullshit a bullshitter, Jon. I know you're anything but fine and that's why you've been keeping your distance from me. So out with it, how are you really? Me – I feel like my head is going to explode and I've barely slept and I know I look like shit right now."

"I sleep great."

It was true, thanks to a combination of whiskey and some Tylenol PM he had started taking to help with morning hangovers. His concern had been her, yes, but at the same time, Jon maintained a distance because, if Donnie's body was suddenly found, -the bits of it anyway, it was currently in a lot of pieces- he didn't want to be used as a means to trace it back to Emery. He had checked the train station locker weekly and nothing ever appeared there after they had taken the tin. That told him someone knew something, which was not alright with him.

"So what's the deal with this sudden sleepover?"

"We'll talk about it once we're settled in the room."

She still felt nauseous from the 'gift' left for her and it was currently wrapped up in a paper towel in her luggage. Emery wasn't sure telling Jon would make a difference when there was no other leads to who was doing this. Not wanting to talk about the murder or Colby, she turned to fully face Jon and leaned her head back against the seat, curling her legs up beneath her backside.

"So you stayed away because of the homeless guy you killed?" Either his body hadn't been found yet wherever Jon buried it or nobody cared about Donnie. Emery hoped he was never found and burned in hell for what he did to her.

"Yes... mostly." He confessed, glancing over at her. "I figured you could use some time... get your head sorted."

She had nearly been raped, assaulted and then got to witness the murder of her attacker. The fact Emery was actually willing to be alone in a truck with him was astonishing. The other bit was waiting to see if anyone was going to come hunting Donnie up, figuratively speaking.

"I thought it was me." Emery averted her gaze down to her entwined fingers and suddenly found them more interesting than the man in front of her driving. "Thought you didn't want to be around me anymore, or something. Not that I'd blame you. Just…it was weird not having you around." She missed him, but that was a confession she would take to the grave or hold back on as long as possible. "Anyway, glad to see you're alive, well rested and still a schmuck."

Turning back to sit straight in the seat, Emery looked out the window watching the street lights pass by them one after the other. Still a schmuck…Jon grinned slightly at that insult. He was a murdering schmuck and reached across the seat to rest his hand on her knee for a brief moment, squeezing gently before pulling away.

"So you missed me, that's what I'm getting from this."

He cocked an eyebrow when he seen where they were apparently spending the night, not minding it too much. Anything beat his crappy, no air-conditioned still apartment. Jon had yet to sort out his living arrangements properly and would have to rectify that sooner rather than later.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"The Marriott?!" Emery blurted out, her eyes dancing between the building and Jon before hopping out of the truck, grabbing her bag.

Was Annalise out of her mind? She wanted something low-key, not…this extravagant. Just how much did she make at the strip joint anyway? Maybe Emery had given up a great opportunity to make some serious currency. No, she wouldn't be attacked again or nearly raped, which unfortunately is what happened to a lot of strippers. Annalise was extremely careful and knew her limitations, but not every stripper had the mindset she did.

"I guess so. Come on, let's get checked in and order some food." Annalise and Joe were already inside and probably up in their room tearing into each other.

"There has to be some sort of mistake. This is... pricey."

Jon felt weird even approaching the place. Annalise and Joe were actually in the lobby getting the rooms because Annalise had not called and reserved anything. This was not a planned night. The Marriot had not been her idea, it was Joe's. She had explained everything to him and he suggested they stay somewhere that was so out the way for them, nobody would think to hunt them down.

"I scuffed the tile, they going to sue me?"

"I'll kick you in the face..."

After finding out the reason they were staying at the Marriott, Emery felt marginally better and guided Jon up to the suite, sliding the keycard in the slot to open the door. "This is overkill…" She muttered, stepping inside and set her bag on the bed, looking around the place in awe.

There was a Jacuzzi near the bed, a balcony and huge bathroom with two other bedrooms. What kind of job did Joe have to be able to afford two suites in this place? Emery sat on the bed while Jon pushed open the balcony door to light a cigarette, noting how frazzled he looked. This was a great idea of Joe's, but at the same time very expensive. Plopping back on the bed, Emery stared up at the ceiling and extended her arms above her head, aqua eyes moving to where Jon stood. Jon pondered just what the hell Joe was doing these days for cash. Last he knew, Joe was a working guy, but hell - the Marriot? Either Joe had been saving up for a rainy day, was risking debt to impress his lady or he was selling drugs on the side or something. Smart idea, but... damn... He turned, leaning back against the railing and stared into the room, spotting Emery and a slow smile curved his lips. Being in a suite with a Jacuzzi and Emery for a night... this was suddenly a marvelous idea and his blue eyes lit up.

"What's that look in your eyes?" Emery demanded, sitting up to rest on her elbows and didn't take her gaze off of him.

She watched him flick the cigarette over the balcony and move toward her, breathing kicking up a notch. I'd been so long since she had sex, willingly, and Emery's body was screaming for attention. Instead of coming toward her, Jon started up the Jacuzzi with the bubbles and filled it with water. It was a Jacuzzi tub more than an actual Jacuzzi. Only difference was it could be drained, which was a good thing. Emery scooted closer to the edge of the bed by the Jacuzzi tub and simply observed, her mouth turning dry at the sight of Jon pulling his t-shirt over his head, revealing his muscular naked chest. Wow, she thought, trying to learn how to breathe properly again.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm stripping, what does it look like?" Jon retorted with a mischievous grin.

It was pretty obvious what he was doing. Nobody started up a Jacuzzi just for shits and giggles. Hotels charged outrageous prices for rooms with the things for a reason. They were hard to clean out and had to be done after guests checked out. Jon suddenly pitied the maids. 

"You should strip too. You look like you could use some bubbly hot water goodness." Next were the jeans, he was not a shy man.

"Jon!" Emery exclaimed, immediately averting her eyes from him and covered the side of her face, already feeling her cheeks growing red hot. What the HELL? Good thing he had on boxer/briefs or this would've been incredibly awkward! "I-I think I'll pass." She stammered, beginning to roll away from the Jacuzzi tub and squealed out, being lifted from the bed with her back pressed against his chest. Being this close to him made her whole body turn to jelly and Emery was careful to look back at him, their mouths inches away from each other's. "I can't very well be in here with my clothes on…not my jeans anyway."

"Well then, Emery darlin', we have an issue." Jon murmured in her ear, amusement in his tone as he slowly set her down until her feet landed on the thick plushy carpet, not releasing her. "Either you can get your jeans wet or you can let me help you out of them."

He knew which choice he preferred. In fact, Jon slowly moved into a kneeling position, right there in front of her, tilting his head back so he could stare up into her face. His hands were on her hips now, fingers just itching to undo her jeans.

"May I?"

Emery knew why he was asking permission and couldn't speak, her vocal cords refusing to work at the moment. So she nodded, watching mesmerized as his mouth clasped the button of her jeans between his tongue and teeth, unsnapping it. He had one strong jaw to do that and there wasn't any hesitation. Jon must've had experience taking jeans off of women. Emery pushed that thought aside, gripping his broad shoulders and sucked in another sharp breath, his mouth capturing the zipper of her jeans to slide it down. She felt them loosen on her hips, her thighs trembling slightly. When he asked her to lift her leg out of one side, Emery did it without hesitation and then the other, now standing before him in a tank top and cotton grey panties.

Not remembering the last time he had seen a woman actually wearing cotton panties without lace or frills, at least not a woman he was undressing, Jon took a moment to savor the sight of her. With this woman, with Emery, his Killer, these were the sexiest things he had ever seen and he ran his hands up her smooth calves, thighs, hips and pushed himself off his knees. He was grateful for the confining boxer briefs to an extent. Guiding her towards the Jacuzzi, Jon halted long enough to take in her tank top. There were bubbles, so she would be covered and he didn't know if he liked that. There really was no turning back from this. Jon didn't want to be alone in the Jacuzzi tub and why the hell didn't Emery want to be in here with him? She missed Jon for the past month, the ache in her chest temporarily gone. Until he disappeared again. Stepping into the heated liquid, Emery stopped long enough to discard the tank top, wearing a cotton grey and pink bra beneath.

"Don't see the need in having it on." Sinking down into the water with Jon still having hold of her hand, a smile crossed her face as he kept her in front of him and Emery somehow ended up straddled on his lap, the bubbles surfacing all around them. "Happy now?"

"You have no idea." He purred, tilting his head back to rest against the ledge of the tub and sighed in contentment.

If anyone had asked him what his idea of heaven was, he'd describe this scene because, as far as he was concerned, this was it. Jon missed her, as odd as that sounded, even her annoying habit of trying to get herself killed with heroics. He pulled her down against him, feeling her head coming to a rest on his shoulder and just sat there for a few moments, feeling the tension beginning to leave her body as she fully relaxed.

"You've had a messed up month, haven't you?"

Honestly, the month had been relatively peaceful. Today was the first the murderer had struck, once again jolting her out of her comfort zone. She hated him for it, wishing they could track down the scumbag and end his existence once and for all. Something told her it was a man, though it could be a woman too. Hell, it could be an alien for all she cared! Emery just wanted whatever or whoever was doing this out of her life forever. She wouldn't mind being with Jon when it was all said and done, or now even. Pulling back from his shoulder, Emery was tired of running and being afraid of what she wanted in life. It was too short.

"Jon…"

As soon as his head turned to look down at her, Emery took a chance and rose her mouth to his, softly kissing his lips. They always had chaotic chemistry. They were like that couple who loved to hate each other and hated to love. That couple being a generalization, but everyone knew a pair like that. There were moments where they snipped at each other, cut each other down and were just general dicks. Then came these hot intense moments where the world stopped and the only thing that mattered was the electricity between them. Jon let her control the kiss, for now, returning it just as softly but firmly, knowing he couldn't push or pressure her into anything. Not her, not his Emery. His strong hands gently massaged her bare sides and the feel of her body against his, her lips parting for him... she was a killer all right, just not in the way he had originally assumed.

"You were right." Emery breathed against his mouth once the kiss broke, both of them needing oxygen in their lungs and nipped his bottom lip, pulling on it slightly. "I did miss you. And if you disappear on me again, I'll hunt you down."

She knew where he lived and should've gone there, but figured Jon wanted nothing to do with her. Judging by the way he reciprocated the kiss and his hands caressing every inch of her body he could reach, that was far from the truth. This time, Jon pulled her in for a passionate kiss and it quickly grew heated, Emery slowly moving her hips on his lap under the water. She could feel how hard he was through the thin material of the boxer briefs he had on and broke the kiss to push his head back, beginning the exploration of his neck. Her lips on his throat... and those hips grinding against him, if Jon wasn't a man who knew how to control his more primal urges, he might've exploded right then and there, especially when she nipped at his pulse point. He growled softly, one hand moving up to seize the back of her neck, the other guiding her hips, his own rising to meet hers. 

"You're not going to have to hunt me down, Emery..." His eyes drifted shut and Jon couldn't keep from letting out a low raspy groan. "I'm not going anywhere..."

Nipping his strong jaw while working her way to the other side of his neck, Emery eventually rose up to capture his mouth in another soft sensual kiss. "Mmm good."

Caressing his chiseled chest, Emery squealed out in surprise, being lifted out of the Jacuzzi tub. Her back connected with the soft bed and Emery looked down at Jon with lust swirling through her now dark ocean blues mixing with cloudy cerulean. They wanted each other and maybe it would help with their constant bickering too. Once her panties were removed, Emery cried out at the feeling of Jon burying his face between her thighs and could only focus on her breathing so she didn't pass out.

"Jon…" She whimpered, trying to buck her hips, writhing against his hot mouth against her sex. "Oh fuck…"

Perhaps bubbles had not been the brightest idea, but once he got past that, it was pure Emery and Jon growled his approval when he felt her fingers threading through his damp hair. Everything about her had the potential to be addicting. Her scent, how her hips were wriggling, causing her to grind her sex against his face, how she tasted... he was glad they had skipped dinner because he was definitely ready to fill up on dessert. Jon used his tongue and lips to nibble, lick and suck, finally sliding a finger past her slick folds, groaning at the feel of being gripped. His mind supplied plenty of feedback about how she would feel around his cock. Receiving oral sex from Jon had to be the most stupefying experience of Emery's life. The feelings he created within her were explosive and raw unlike her time with Colby. Everything Jon did was right; Colby had gotten it wrong every time.

Instead of worrying about how best to get himself off, Jon focused on her and made sure Emery was fully satisfied. He didn't want to jump into sex with her full-throttle and that meant a great deal to her. Prepping her body thoroughly, Emery didn't know what kind of energy and strength she'd have left if and when they got down to the main course of the sexual bout. She lost count how many times Jon made her climax with just his teeth, lips and tongue. Somehow, Emery found the strength to flip Jon on his back with her straddling his waist and yanked the boxer briefs down his muscular legs, nipping his toned stomach on her way down the lower half of his body. It was impressive how she had held onto some strength because Jon was sure he drained her of all energy. Quite literally, drank it down like nectar.

"Emery... fuck." He rasped, struggling not to grab a fistful of her hair and thrust when her luscious lips finally wrapped around his cock. By now, it was demanding some attention. "Jesus Christ!" Colby had been out of his damn mind!

The problem with Colby was his rather…small dick. Yes, the man was dead, but Emery hadn't enjoyed sex with him or giving a blowjob because…he wasn't nearly as big as Jon. In fact, it was hard to fit all of Jon inside of her mouth whereas Colby felt like a toothpick compared to him, fully erect. That was sad. She suggested Colby get his dick looked at one night and had been slapped, being a smartass of course. Emery still loved him after that and she was starting to wonder if she was absolutely insane for being with men who intentionally hurt her. Granted, Jon was nothing like Colby, so that was a big difference between the two. Thrusting Jon's cock in and out of her mouth, Emery breathed through her nose, doing the best she could to pleasure him to the best of her ability. Hopefully, she didn't disappoint him and began fondling his balls to increase the desire for him. She didn't even have to give him a blowjob, the desire Jon felt for her was off the charts. If Emery noticed when his hand buried in her hair, she didn't give any indication and he wasn't aware he had even done it.

"Emery... keep that up," Jon hissed out through gritted teeth, raising his head up to watch her. His usually pale blues were dark with passion as he took in the delicious sight of her mouth bobbing on him. "And I'm going to cum right down your throat." That was as fair a warning as she would ever get.

Emery released his cock from her mouth, locking ocean blue on cerulean depths and continued stroking with her hand. "So do it."

A second later, her mouth engulfed his cock once again and started the torturous process all over again. It didn't take Jon long after to climax, his warm salty tasting seed shooting in the back of Emery's throat. Unlike Colby, he tasted wonderful and didn't make her want to vomit afterwards, not minding having a protein shake every once in a while. For Jon, Emery would do it every day if that's what made him happy. Only when she was sure every drop had been claimed did Emery release his cock and crawled up the length of his body until their mouths connected. Both of their essences swirled on each other's tongue and it made the moment more erotic than usual.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Jon's balls were aching from being drained so dry and he wondered if he even had enough fluid left to keep going or if he needed to call a time-out for rehydration. He didn't stop kissing her, using the moment as a cool down and taking the time to let his dick get back in the program. He hadn't been laid... well, in some time and, even if this was as far as they went tonight, he was all right with that. Jon was all right with just lying here with her, anything Emery was comfortable with. When the kiss broke, he smiled up at her, taking in her flushed face and the way her tongue darted out to lick the corner of her lips. Maybe Emery was a little too fierce with the blowjob, but as long as Jon wasn't complaining, she was fine with it. They didn't have to have sex tonight, not if Jon couldn't rise to the occasion again. Her ocean blues sparkled, still clouded over with desire for him and hadn't returned to their normal aqua yet. Moving off his lap, Emery curled up against Jon draping her leg over his and continued kissing him, teasing his lips, chin and neck with her mouth. They both had to cool down before even attempting to have sex.

"I needed this release and I'm glad it's with you." Emery pecked his nose and once again played with the curls at the nape of his neck. For some reason, she had an obsession with them and running her fingers through his hair was a calming agent for her. "I'm really starting to like you, Jon."

If Emery wasn't careful, she would end up falling for him, if she hadn't already. Jon could practically hear a 'but' or something in that sentence or perhaps that was in his own mind supplying it because he was no good for someone like her. Hell, he was no good for her, period; look at what he had done to her, what he had gotten her mixed up in. He didn't know what to say, obviously liking her more than he was ready to admit. There was something about this woman that drew him in. His Killer. He rather liked how that sounded in his head, knowing now was not the time to say it out loud though. Moment would definitely be over. Grinning, Jon rolled them both, now hovering over her and studied her glowing face thoughtfully.

"And how do you feel about liking me?"

Stroking his face with the back of her hand, Emery brought his mouth down on hers to softly kiss him. Truthfully, she was an ex-convict and, even if her name was cleared, those 6 months she spent behind bars would forever be with her. Jon didn't need to be someone like that, especially his dead best friend's ex-fiancée. Still, here they were in bed together, naked and ready to give themselves to each other. Fate truly had a messed up sense of humor.

"At first I thought I was losing my mind. But then you disappeared for a month out of my life and I felt…I don't know…empty, I guess, without you around. You make me…happy and I haven't felt that in a long time." Emery speculated how Jon felt about her, knowing he wouldn't come directly out like her and say it. "And just so you know, I don't give out blowjobs on the fly like I just did with you. Take that for what it's worth."

Jon had a feeling there were a lot of sexual things Emery did not do on the fly and it all related back to Colby raping her whenever he felt like. Donnie probably hadn't helped her in that department either. There was still some part of him that deliberated if this was some jacked up form of Stockholm syndrome or maybe it had to do with all the bad things that happened to her. There was just no legitimate way this woman could want a guy like him. She was way out of his league. Not that Jon would let it stop him because he wanted her and, if she was willing, he'd have her.

"I don't think you'll be getting rid of me anytime soon, darlin'." It was about as close as he was getting to admitting anything.

"I never thanked you for…what you did that day."

Everything happened so fast and Jon had left shortly after to dispose of Donnie's body. Emery still had nightmares about the homeless man raping her. Maybe now that Jon was back in her life, they would go away and she could finally have a decent night sleep. She still hadn't told him about her 'gift', which prompted them to stay in this snazzy hotel in the first place, thanks to Joe's generosity and not allowing Annalise to pay for it with her stripper money. Emery had the best friend in the world and, once she got back on her feet, she would pay back Annalise for everything the woman did for her and more.

"Who would've thought I'd think of you as a hero?" Emery joked, brushing her lips against his cheeks, nose and eyebrows, feeling his head lower to snuggle against her chest. Once again, her fingers found his hair and both were content to just lay there in each other's arms. "Thank you, Jon, for everything."

"You're welcome, Emery."

He wasn't a hero, more like an anti-hero, which was way cooler and accurate. When he both heard and felt her stomach rumbling, he cocked an inquisitive brow. Jon had not missed the way Emery looked. She looked haggard and had lost weight. Sustenance was a must, especially if they were going to do more than sleep in this bed. Jon wasn't going to be responsible for her going to the hospital due to overexertion and malnourishment. Well, not the malnourishment part anyway.

"Want to order up?"

Eventually, they would have to talk about this little sleepover and why it occurred, not that he overly minded. Grinning slightly, Jon bent down to kiss the hollow of her throat, suddenly feeling... oddly happy. That question was answered with two greasy cheeseburger dinners and thick fries being sent up to their room. Emery tossed on Jon's t-shirt and swam in it, not minding while Jon slipped his boxer briefs on.

"Oh my god, this is so good!" Emery groaned approvingly, feeling like she hadn't ate in days.

Truth be told, she hadn't, but Jon didn't need to know that. Ever since his disappearance out of her life and Donnie's attack, Emery didn't have much of an appetite. Now that Jon was back, she was happier and wanted to stuff her face. Made perfect sense, right? Emery dipped a fry in the ketchup they were sharing and popped it in her mouth, not making a move toward the remote. After they ate in companionable silence, Emery rolled the tray out of the room and rejoined Jon in bed, snuggling up against him while they both let their food settle.

"So I suppose you're wondering why we're here tonight instead of at the apartment." She looked up in his eyes, the smile deteriorating from her face as well as his and replaced with frowns. "Someone sent me…a lock of Colby's hair today. I didn't see who dropped the package off, but it scared me and Annalise demanded we leave the apartment for a few days to figure things out. Didn't think she'd bring us to a 5 star hotel though."

Jon was an observant man when he wanted to be. He had seen the circles under her eyes, the slight gauntness to her cheeks, the way her already slender body seemed a bit on the bony side. Jon had also gotten to feel that as he had been quite hands on with her tonight. When Emery informed him of the reason for their slumber party, Jon felt his own appetite somewhat disappearing, but he still popped a fry in his own mouth, staring at her thoughtfully. A lock of Colby's hair... that was weird.

"Okay as macabre as this sounds, do you think it's like... pre-dead or off Colby's dead body hair?" Either way raised a lot of questions and he could get why she was scared. Someone was still toying with her, the thought of it caused his pale blues to ice over, narrowing as he contemplated what would come next.

"I have no idea. It could be either. There's blonde in it with the black, kinda half and half. Here."

She hadn't noticed the blonde until after looking at the lock of hair a second time, remembering Colby dyed a quarter of his hair blonde to 'stand out'. Emery slid off the bed and went to her bag, pulling the box out to hand it over to Jon, trusting him explicitly. He popped it, looked for a moment and snapped it shut, setting the box on the nightstand.

"I'm sorry. I just wish whoever is doing this would stop. At this rate, Annalise and I may have to leave Tampa, as much as we love it here." They were running out of options and neither felt safe these days, which wasn't normal for everyday life. "I don't want to move. Tampa is my home and I hate that whoever is sending these disgusting pieces of Colby is forcing us out. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever find out who's doing this or if we should cut our losses and get the fuck out while we're still breathing."

Jon studied her attentively, stroking his chin. He had thought he knew Colby, him and Joe both, but obviously they hadn't. They hadn't known much about her until Colby's death. They hadn't known Colby was a psychopath either. Jon was wondering what else he didn't know about his dead sadist friend.

"Do you think maybe Colby was seeing someone else? Someone who might be after you for revenge or something?" As cheesy and horror flick-ish as that sounded, it was a possibility.

Emery nodded, lowering her eyes from Jon and brought her knees up to her chest, leaning back against the headboard. "He cheated on me a lot." She hated talking badly about Colby in front of Jon now that they were on the same page and getting to know each other intimately. The last thing she wanted to do was anger him. "Every time I'd accuse him of it, he'd just smile coldly at me and tell me not to worry about what he does outside of our home. That he'll always wind up in my bed at the end of the night. He made me feel like complete trash, if I'm being honest, and the few times I tried leaving after we got engaged, he beat the hell out of me. He told me I was his little bitch for the rest of my life until the day I died. Then he would find another little bitch to control. He had no shame coming home smelling of sex and another whore's perfume. Hell, he even hit on Annalise once and she ended up kneeing him in the balls. I didn't see her until I escaped Davenport and came to Tampa to stay with her."

"Sounds like Annalise." Jon had learned very quickly Annalise did not tolerate a man's crap, so it wasn't surprising she hadn't put up with Colby's. Sometimes, he pitied Joe because, if the Samoan screwed up, that spitfire would make him regret it. "Emery..." He knew this was not something he should be asking, but... Jon was going to ask anyway. "Did you – did you love Colby? Or were you with him out of fear?"

She had said before she loved Colby, but after everything he had put her through, Jon couldn't wrap his mind around it. Raping her, beating her, slapping her whenever she confronted him about cheating, openly cheating on her... there had to be a line drawn somewhere. A woman could only take so much and Emery must've reached her limit to leave Colby, which is why she came to Tampa with Annalise and he had followed, wanting her back.

"When we first got together, yes I did love him. I would've done anything for him and I did my best to make him happy. We were happy…until he proposed to me. Right after we got engaged, I moved in with him and everything started falling apart. Fear consumed me on a daily basis because I never knew what his mood would be like and he always blamed it on working too much or hard." Emery let out a shaky breath, blinking tears away threatening to sting her eyes and looked away from Jon, wiping away a stray one sliding down her cheek. "When I first found out he cheated on me, my love for him slowly started deteriorating until…there was nothing left except hatred and resentment. Being beaten and raped on a daily basis didn't help matters either. So yeah, I guess I did stay with him as long as I did out of fear. I mean, I did try leaving and paid for it. Annalise is the one who really saved my ass and got me away from him. I owe her my life because she literally saved it. Colby would've probably ended up killing me one day from how volatile his temper was. I'm not sad he's dead, but I do wonder what I did to turn him into the monster he became."

"I have no idea, maybe it wasn't even you. Not really..." Jon mused solicitously, his eyes staring just beyond her, unfocused.

He watched all the videos of Colby and Emery, the PG romantic ones and they had seemed so in love and happy, it had been disgusting. Jon couldn't fathom what she had done to cause Colby to snap, if it had even been her at all. Sure, he might've been bipolar and moody, but he was nowhere near crazy on that level.

"Maybe he was always just... insane and none of us could see it."

"I'm sorry." Emery looked back at him once she was sure the tears dried up in her eyes and took his hand, pushing him down on the bed to softly kiss him. "He's gone now." Pulling back to remove the t-shirt, she tossed it to the floor behind her shoulder and nuzzled his neck, enjoying the scruff against her tongue. "You're here with me and I wouldn't have it any other way. Got me?"

Colby was a faded memory in the distance and one day he would be completely out of her life. Emery didn't want to talk about him anymore because she knew it hurt Jon to hear the type of monster his friend was. They were together now and, even if Colby was still alive, nothing would stop Emery from being with him unless Jon pushed her out of his life. She didn't think that would ever happen, not for a while anyway. Her mouth began worshipping his muscular chest and arms, just enjoying being in control of him for a change. Given that Jon was a man, the sudden change from sad depressing thoughts about how insane Colby had been to sexy times and her mouth on him, Jon was able to roll with it. Colby was dead.

He was here now with Emery and nothing was going to change that or interrupt them.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

When her hands moved to his head and her fingers began threading through his curls, Jon began chuckling huskily. "You really have a thing for them, don't you, darlin'?" He had a thing for her period, his hands now roaming her body, exploring and memorizing her curves.

"I can't help it. Your hair is soft and alluring."

Emery grinned, taking one of Jon's nipples in her mouth and swirled it around her tongue before moving to the other one, giving it the same treatment. She laughed when Jon turned the tables to where he hovered over her, kissing her quickly and reached down to start stimulating her body by stroking her bundle of nerves. Emery was already soaking for him, spreading her thighs wider and stopped him from starting the descent down her body.

"We've each had our taste tonight. I want the real deal now." To emphasize her point, Emery reached down between their bodies and wrapped her hand around his rock hard cock, pulling him closer to her. "It's yours, Jon, take it…"

He thrust his hips gently against her hand, feeling her stroking him in time before stopping and nodding. "First, though..."

Jon had no idea if she was on anything, but given she had been nearly raped the month before, Jon suspected Emery hadn't been having sex, really doubting she had bothered with birth control. He, however, carried a condom in his wallet, just like every other man out there in the world. Jon wasted very little time in retrieving the condom and sliding it on his thick shaft. He was back, hovering over her, resting between her spread thighs again in almost no time at all. Staring into her eyes, he noted that their usual brilliant aqua color was... darker, seeing the desire swirling in them. Dipping his head, Jon brushed his lips against hers before reaching down between their bodies, positioning himself.

"No turning back, Emery." He informed her, giving the woman one last chance to stop what was about to happen and tugged on her bottom lip gently with his teeth.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Jon." Emery breathed out and shut her eyes, feeling his cock push past her slick folds, stretching instantly to accommodate his massive size.

Much bigger than Colby. He'd been the last man she had sex with or was raped by rather. With Jon, it was all consensual and wanted, almost a borderline need. After he was settled fully inside of her, Emery rolled her hips gently against him and kissed him, both of them moving in time with the other.

"I want to feel you completely…" She mumbled against his ear, gripping his forearms for dear life and gasped at Jon sliding out of her and then thrusting back inside. "Lean back." At Jon's questionable look, Emery chuckled and sat up on her knees, repositioning herself with her backside sticking in the air toward him. "Should've said it sooner, but I do prefer doggy style…"

Emery's luscious backside waving at him... Jon was practically drooling as he took in the delectable sight, shifting to settle behind her on his knees. He ran a single finger down her spine and along the curve of her hip, smirking slightly. A second later, Jon delivered four quick fairly gentle little slaps to each cheek, watching them turn a rosy red, caressing the areas with his thumbs.

"Beautiful..." He rumbled approvingly, palms skimming back to her hips, angling her just right before guiding his cock back to her entrance, running the head up and down her wet slit.

Jon sincerely hoped she was ready for a long night because he had gotten off once and because he had already popped his cork, he would have some serious stamina. Emery had climaxed as well, but unlike a man, a woman's anatomy was different and she was more sensitive than his dick. It wouldn't take long for her to climax again and Emery was ready for the ride Jon wanted to embark on that night. She stayed strong throughout every thrust he produced in her body, thoroughly enjoying his balls slapping against her pussy lips repeatedly. The sound of their lovemaking session resonated around the hotel room, pure music to both of their ears.

An hour into the session, Emery felt Jon's hand bury in her short brown hair, back colliding against his solid chest. She turned her head enough to accept a quick kiss from him, his hand settling on her throat and smiled through moans of pure pleasure. Emery lost count how many times she came for him and gasped when his fingers began stroking her swollen clit, crying out as another orgasm crashed over her. By now, their bodies were slick with sweat and Emery knew she would probably sleep for a straight week after this sexual bout with her animal, not regretting a second of it.

Their chaotic chemistry only intensified, a month apart doing nothing to diminish it. If anything, it had only fanned the flames. Women were blessed or cursed depending on how one looked at it, in that they could cum multiple times. Emery did just that. Each time she did, she tightened around him, nearly cutting off what circulation Jon had left. Each time, he had to grit his teeth because she felt so good wrapped around his cock, her walls gripping him in a tight vise and it was both heaven and hell.

"Again!" He growled in her ear after she had milked him again.

"Jon!" Emery choked out, not sure she could muster another orgasm and somehow managed to stay drenched for him.

With one last intense climax that rocked the foundation of her body, Emery screamed mentally with relief when Jon finally came, his seed filling the condom. Her body collapsed on the bed, not having an ounce of strength left and turned her face so she didn't suffocate herself in the comforter. That was the only movement Emery could make, feeling as though her heart would explode in her chest. She felt Jon move her hair from her sweaty neck and planted soft kisses over the heated damp skin, his arm encircling her to pull her on her side, spooning against her. Was it weird she hadn't felt his dick leave her body? Probably, but Emery wouldn't question it, not right now anyway.

"Sleep…need sleep now."

Jon laughed softly, a bit out of breath himself and knew he was definitely going to feel it later. His abdominals were already protesting and, sometime, when his legs were working properly, he would have to rehydrate. He would also have to eventually pull off the condom, really hoping it had held up because that had been a marathon session.

"All right, darlin', get some sleep..." He murmured, kissing her shoulder.

It was the best sleep either of them had in a while. No nightmares about Colby or Donnie plagued Emery like they had throughout the month Jon wasn't in her life. Funny how that worked.

* * *

No more 'gifts' came to the apartment or hotel and, before Emery knew it, another month passed by. Only this time Jon stuck around as promised and they got to know each other. She was falling in love with him and trusted him, missing him whenever he was gone. He ended up getting a job in Tampa away from the docks, deciding to stick around and Emery helped him fill his apartment to make it feel more like a home. Granted, they still had their tiffs with each other and it always ended with both of them naked in one of their beds. Angry sex really was the best kind, especially when Jon became animalistic and rough. For some reason, Emery thoroughly enjoyed it, just not all the time. Luckily, Emery also managed to find a 9-to-5 cleaning job that didn't do a background check and she was paid cash every week. It was better than nothing and brought in income to help pay for the apartment so Annalise didn't have to do it all herself.

This month had been the weirdest month of his life. In a way, it was probably one of the best, if not the best. However, at the same time, 6 months ago if someone would have asked him where he saw himself in the near future, in Emery's bed, living in Tampa still, would not have been Jon's answer or anywhere near it. It seemed like with that lock of hair, they had reached a dead-end and nothing else had come up. Nobody stalking them, no gifts, nothing. He still kept an eye out and an ear to the ground, but as time passed and nothing happened, Jon began breathing a lot easier, sincerely happy.

Kicking her shoes off from another busy day at work, Emery pulled out the wad of cash from her back pocket and began counting it, setting enough aside for her half of rent. She would give it to Annalise tomorrow on her only day off. They were on different schedules and she spent most of her free time with Joe. It was only a matter of time before Joe asked her to move in with him, which would leave Emery with the burden of paying for the apartment or moving. She still contemplated saving enough money to leave Tampa, but didn't want to leave Jon behind. Maybe he would want to go with her. Emery wouldn't leave without him and, if being together meant her staying in Tampa, there was no choice to be made. Tampa would be her new home as long as Jonathan Good was part of it.

Jon had a new rather boring habit. It was so disgustingly _normal_ that sometimes he had to check to make sure he still had everything attached and no one had messed with his head. He would get off work, since he now had gainful proper employment, go back to his apartment, which now was a proper home and shower. Then, unless he knew there was something else going on, he would go to what was quickly becoming Emery's apartment to practice being married. Today was no exception and Jon even stopped long enough to pick up a bouquet of some flower that he was pretty sure was not native to Florida. Given how fast Joe and Annalise seemed to be moving, he was expecting to be asked to be the best man any day now and wasn't sure how he felt about that. His best friend, with Emery's best friend... thinking about it would lead to a headache.

After a much-needed shower, Emery started dinner since Jon would be showing up. Actually, she started dinner that morning before going to work and hoped Jon liked it. Stuffed cabbage with white rice. It was one of her favorite dishes and she didn't make it nearly as often as she should. This reminded her oddly of when Emery first moved in with Colby and she would cook dinner for him every night. Jon wasn't Colby and she kept having to remind herself of that. He wouldn't hurt her; protecting her many times throughout their short time knowing each other. Just as she finished the rice, the front door opened with Jon using his key she gave him, with Annalise's blessing and didn't turn to greet him, busy finishing up dinner in the kitchen. Jon hadn't been kidding when he had thought in terms of playing being married. Other than the fact he went to his own place first, this was almost like coming home to the little woman after a long day at work. Not that Jon would say that to her because Emery would probably slap him for being sexist. Emery busted her backside to bring in money, which he knew wasn't easy given she was still a relatively high-profile person.

"Hey darlin'," Jon walked up behind her, careful not to disturb her and waited patiently until her hands were free before turning her around for a kiss, the flowers still in one hand.

"Hey handsome." She murmured against his mouth with a smile and eyeballed the flowers in his hand, raising a slow brow at him. "Thank you."

Emery did NOT expect Jon to be the type of man to bring her flowers of any kind. It was a sweet gesture nevertheless. Asking what they were for would be incredibly rude. There wasn't any kind of holiday like Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day on the horizon either since it was in the middle of summer. She cupped the back of his neck and gave him another kiss, this time deepening it a little.

"Dinner's almost ready and then we can both relax. I have to talk to you about something important. Nothing bad, I promise."

Flowers had been spur of the moment, but now Jon was wondering if maybe he had just set himself up. Anytime any woman, he didn't care who she was, it could have been his mother, said any variation of 'we need to talk, 'I need to talk' and 'talk' with the added 'important' in there, something was up. Their relationship wasn't ending because Emery wouldn't have kissed him long and lingering, so he could only imagine what was on her mind.

"Are you pregnant?" First thing that came to mind Jon blurted out.

Probably a good thing he had picked up those flowers, needing them to save his backside from that asinine question. Emery wasn't an ordinary woman, if that wasn't obvious, since she was currently in a relationship with the same man who kidnapped and tortured her for 2 weeks. He also called her 'Killer', which she'd gotten used to and didn't reprimand him for it anymore. She laughed wholeheartedly, shaking her head and brought out two bowls full of stuffed cabbage, the white rice on the bottom so it could be mixed together.

"If I was, I wouldn't be happy right now. I'd be scared out of my mind and probably setting up to get rid of it." Another laugh. The smile didn't leave her face. "Relax baby, I can't get pregnant. I'm on the shot and we've been using condoms. So unless you have super sperm, no chance of it happening. Now eat up."

He was secretly relieved as hell. Life was great right now, Emery was great, the sex was amazing as hell, but kids were not a thought on Jon's mind and he definitely did not see any mini-Jon or Emery's running around in the near future. However, regardless of her getting rid of it comment, he knew better than to voice his relief.

"My sperm is super..." He informed her, beginning to mix up his stuffed cabbage and rice. "It's so super, Superman is jealous as fuck."

Jon wanted to know what this important thing was... now he knew it wasn't pregnancy. Rolling her eyes at his 'super sperm' comment, Emery took a couple bites of dinner and set it on the coffee table to cool off a bit. It was extremely hot and she didn't want to burn her mouth.

"This probably won't be shocking to you at all, but Annalise is moving in with Joe." Jon dropping his fork in the bowl and snorting told her all she needed to know. "That being said, I can't afford this apartment by myself, so I'm gonna have to move. And if I leave Tampa…" Their eyes met when she said that and Emery took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "I want you to come with me, Jon. I'll stay here and find another place, but I don't want to live anywhere you're not. What do you think?"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Jon never planned on making Tampa his permanent home, hence the Spartan apartment. The only reason he had stayed after finding out Emery was not the Colby's murder, was Emery herself. Granted, the mystery that had gone on before suddenly just... tapering off concerned him, but other than that, Jon had no ties to this city. As far as Joe and Annalise moving in together, he wasn't surprised at all. Those two were going to burn a trail behind them in a rush to the altar.

"As long as it's not humid as hell, I'm cool with that." Then Emery's last words replaced through his mind. "Whoa wait – move in together, is that where we're going with this?"

He wanted to make sure. If they were just moving and getting separate apartments, that was alright, but living together just made more sense all around. Now it was Emery's turn to have a temporary panic attack. She stood up from the couch, suddenly not hungry anymore and needed something to drink, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge.

"W-What?! N-No! No, of course not! I-" After several gulps, she spoke again. "Well, I mean if you came with me it would be stupid to get two separate places. And we would have to find jobs pretty quickly. I was thinking Vegas. I don't know though, maybe that's too wild for you or me or both of us…" Now she was rambling, her nerves overtaking her train of thought.

Living together hadn't been on the agenda, but now Emery couldn't the notion out of her mind. The last time she moved in with a man hadn't ended well and she was scared it would happen again. Maybe she was cursed to live with a man and somehow turned them psychotic.

"I-I don't think living together can happen, Jon. I just don't want things falling apart and they will if we…if we move in together. We can share a place until we get jobs and then just get our separate places or one of us moves out or something…"

Jon had a moment of misperception. At first, she had an evident panic attack, which would have been mildly insulting if he wasn't a jackass who felt relief at the 'no baby' thing. He watched as she calmed herself, stirring his food slowly and blowing on it calmly to cool it down. Thinking she had pulled herself together, but apparently Emery hadn't and was having second thoughts.

"Calm down, Killer," He ordered in a soft rumble, getting up to walk over and stare down at her, noting the emotion flickering through her aqua eyes and had a feeling he knew where her train of thought was either at or about to reach. "I'm not Colby." He reassured her, placing his hands on her shoulders and slid them down her arms, caressing them to try soothing her. "I know he hurt you, Emery, but I won't." Sometimes, she just needed to hear that, to be reminded that not all men were scum of the earth. "If you want, we can just try looking online for places, have something lined up. Vegas sounds good."

Being very calm, Jon tried giving her options, though he wouldn't deny the idea of them living together was appealing. They practically did now. Worked, showered, met up, ate dinner together and then had sex before falling asleep in each other arms. They could live together and skip the extra gas being used to drive back and forth, honestly.

"I know you're not." Emery cupped his face and brought his forehead down on hers, shutting her eyes to relish the feeling of having him close. "You're nothing like him, I know that. I feel it inside and out. I'm just…I'm scared. I don't want to do anything to ruin what we have now."

For some reason, she still blamed herself for things going south between her and Colby. Moving in with him had been fast right after the engagement. This time around, with Jon, Emery was doing everything backwards. Maybe that was the right way to go about it. If Jon never wanted to get married, Emery was fine with that, as long as they stayed together. Losing him wasn't an option.

"I trust you, Jon. If you're alright with us moving in together, I'm all for it too."

Colby and Emery had been together some time before their engagement. It had been after that – after they had moved in together, things had gone downhill and Jon would never understand why. If Colby had been trying to ensure Emery didn't leave him or something, he had totally botched it and paid the ultimate price. Jon also knew Emery still, on some level -he had a hard time comprehending- blamed herself for Colby losing his mind and treating her horribly.

"Why don't we compromise, Emery, to make you feel a bit more comfortable?" Jon offered, feathering his lips against hers. "Why don't we find a two bedroom place or something – like one of those units that are two places, but joined by a door? Duplex? We'd be living together, but you'd still have your own space." She'd be able to retreat if she felt overwhelmed.

Frowning, Emery didn't know if she liked the sound of that because, for the past month, they had slept in the same bed together every night. She knew Jon was the reason she hadn't experienced anymore nightmares and didn't want them coming back. No Colby. No Donnie. Life was great and Jon was a big part of the reason.

"I don't want to get to the point of distancing ourselves from each other. I don't want to lose you or push you away, Jon." She argued softly, stroking the side of his face and rubbed her nose against his lovingly. "We're practically living together now besides you going home to wash up before coming here after work. It would be a waste of money to pay for a duplex when we can get a two bedroom apartment and be able to live comfortably. Vegas isn't exactly a cheap place to live. I'll be fine, I promise."

Living in Vegas... Jon conjectured if she would find a cleaning job there. Vegas was the city of sin, for good reason. The money to be made was on the strip, in the casinos and in the luxurious hotels. Before, he was fine with the idea of her being a stripper, or dancer, whatever. Those women who worked the poles had some crazy strength and had to go through extensive training to do all the tricks they did. Jon had respect for that. Now, however... his Emery, his Killer. He had a fleeting glimpse of installing a pole in their bedroom and shook his head immediately to clear it.

"Got a time in mind for this? Like, how long we got?"

"Why not start looking tonight?"

Emery couldn't believe they were doing this and felt a rush of excitement, the smile permanently planted on her face. She kissed him softly, tenderly and squealed, Jon lifting her up to wrap her legs around his waist. It was nice to be with a man who could lift her, though Colby was stronger than people gave him credit for. There she went again comparing Jon and Colby. She had to stop doing it and look at the man in front of her that was her present and future.

"Unless you'd rather do something else first? Which, for the record, I have zero objections against."

"Why don't you try eating a bit more and we can look?"

Jon assumed that mental pregnancy scare from minutes ago had probably caused her appetite to disappear. Now that Emery seemed more... relaxed and secure, he figured she could finish eating. They'd get on the laptop and start house hunting and then spend hours wearing her out in the bedroom.

"Trust me, Killer, you're going to need the strength."

For the next hour or so, they hunted for apartments because houses were too expensive in Vegas. Why Emery chose Vegas was beyond her, but it seemed to fit her and Jon's personalities. They were crazy and eccentric at times, especially Jon. Emery finished eating and set her bowl on the nightstand while Jon continued scrolling through the pages of apartments available. While he was busy, she slipped into a little baby blue spaghetti strapped lingerie Annalise picked up for her. It was a simple baby doll chemise that went to mid-thigh and it was see-through everywhere besides the chest area. Jon didn't notice at first and Emery simply sat back down beside him, stroking his bare back and neck, leaning her chin on his shoulder.

"Anything pop out at you yet?"

Apartments were expensive as hell too, Jon surmised, wondering what kind of crack Emery had been smoking when the idea of Vegas popped into her head. On the upside, jobs were going to be plentiful. It wasn't like he was averse to working rigmarole jobs or ones that paid under the table and maybe weren't exactly legal. He'd make sure Emery didn't go without, no matter what he had to do.

"Not yet..." Jon wrapped an arm around her absentmindedly, stroking her side through the material of her top. "Well, this one doesn't look too bad..." Jon clicked on it. "How about this, it has..." He trailed off and looked at her, realizing she had changed her attire.

"Hmm that one does look nice. Small and affordable." Emery clicked on a couple pictures to look at the rooms, bathroom and kitchen it offered, tilting her head slightly. "It's off the strip too, so we wouldn't be disturbed that often with noise. Maybe drunks every weekend, but hopefully we'll both get jobs that-" She could feel Jon's hot breath beating down on her neck and lifted aqua eyes until they met smoldering blue, a small smile curving her lips while his eyes gave her a thorough onceover. "See something you like, baby?"

Off the strip meant they would get to deal with the dregs, drunks and anyone else who dealt in shady work. This was close enough, however, to also afford them some of the security the strip would warrant. Those thoughts, contrariwise, were fleeting because his real attention was focused on her little bit of baby blue fabric.

"You're a tease, Emery..." Jon growled, moving until he was standing up, pulling her up with him and began backing her tiny frame into the wall. When her back pressed against it, he leaned forward, planting his hands on either side of her head and just took in the vision. "Wicked, wicked woman."

Her body flushed from the roots of her dark brown hair to the tips of her toes, cherries forming in her cheeks. The way Jon gazed at her with so much intensity and desire forced a shiver to slide down her back, goosebumps forming on her heated skin. It was far more erotic not being touched and Emery realized he was teasing her as much as she had with what she had on. Annalise told her it would drive Jon crazy to see her in it and she didn't lie.

"Only when it comes to you." Emery slid a single finger down the length of his beautiful muscular bare chest, thoroughly enjoying how every muscle scraping against her nail rippled against her touch. She had as much of a penetrating effect on him as he did her. "Now my question to you is: What are you gonna do about it?"

"Stay still." Jon ordered, grabbing her wrists gently but firmly and planted them up over her head against the wall. "Keep them there." He whispered, leaning forward to kiss her.

The effect this woman had on him... she was definitely both good and bad for his already temperamental mind state. Taking his sweet time, Jon began kissing down along Emery's neck, his lips curving against her flesh when he felt her tilting her head to the side, though he didn't linger. He continued working his way down, careful not to do anything that might destroy the lingerie. Emery went without panties, which Jon quickly cottoned onto. He slid the lingerie up just enough around her hips and gave her backside a couple smacks, calling her a naughty girl in her ear. She gasped as his hand popped her clean shaven sex, stroking the bundle of nerves with his middle finger. Lifting her by the backs of her thighs, Jon draped her legs over his shoulders and buried his face between them, sliding his tongue up her wet slit. The moment she tried burying her fingers in his hair, something Jon knew Emery loved doing, he stopped and looked up at her through narrowed cloudy cerulean orbs.

"What did I say? Hands on the wall."

With widening eyes, Emery couldn't believe she had to suffer being sexually tortured and couldn't even touch his hair! Jon had lost his mind! She did it again when he started tasting her and whimpered, feeling him stop cold, pulling his tongue away. Her sex quivered along with the rest of her body and it didn't take long to figure out he was not kidding or joking. It took every ounce of willpower not to bury her fingers in his unruly curls and kept her hands against the wall on either side of her head. Jon had ample absolute control over her, using his strength to hold her against the wall and it was tantalizing not able to touch a single part of his body.

"J-Jon…" Her voice came out breathless and unstable, Emery looking down watching him feast on her flesh and tossed her head back against the wall, clenching her hands in tight fists. "Oh – OH yes!"

Not stopping until he had his fill and was sure Emery had been thoroughly punished for teasing him, Jon reluctantly pulled away slowly lowering her to the floor. He did not want to take the sexy lingerie off and since it wasn't in the way of what he wanted to do, Jon didn't see the need to remove it. Turning her around once he was done with the front half of her body, Emery could only face the wall with her hands planted on the wall and moaned breathlessly at his actions. It wouldn't take long for her climax again, her entire body sensitive from Jon already snacking on her pussy. Why did a woman's body have to be so easy to please while a man took forever to get one orgasm? Not letting her move from the wall, Jon slid his hands up the length of her arms to lace their fingers together and penetrated her with his hard cock, both of them groaning at the friction. Emery tightened her fingers with Jon's, arching her back enough to make sure he didn't slide out and held on for what would be an unforgettable ride.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"So instead of beating around the bush, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Jon and I are moving in together. And we're moving to Vegas!"

Of all the things Annalise might've expected to hear pop out of Emery's mouth or for her to say or announce, this wasn't it. She sat on the edge of the couch, staring intently at Emery, waiting for her friend to deliver the punchline to the joke or something. When it became apparent that Emery was not facetious, Annalise's rather stiff smile lapsed into a full-fledged frown.

"You're not serious?" Emery was; she was freaking staid! "Why Vegas? What the hell is in Vegas?"

Of all the places to move, why would Emery pick a place across the country? Well no, Annalise got that. Being in Florida still wasn't getting any easier and she would always be dubbed the murderess of Tampa Bay.

"And with Jon? You two haven't been dating all that long, honey. Are you sure moving across the country with him is a good idea?"

"Anna, I'm tired of hiding and not living my life. Is this smart? No. Is it probably a mistake? Yes. I'm aware of the risk I'm taking with Jon. This could all blow up in my face and I'm prepared for the consequences. But at least I'll be LIVING again, sissy." Emery took Annalise's hands in hers, squeezing them gently with desperation in her aqua eyes. "I'm falling in love with him. And it's not Stockholm syndrome and it's not anything bad. I'm finally moving on with my life from Colby Lopez and it's the best feeling in the world. My heart is finally trusting enough to love again and so is my brain. They are both telling me to take this chance with Jon, to have a fresh start in my life away from all this murder bullshit. I'm done letting it run my life. It's time I live because I only have one life and it's too damn short to be worrying about who killed that abusive rapist anyway."

Annalise could only sit there and stare with her mouth hanging open. Emery seemed to be the only person on earth with the ability to render her mouth speechless and send her mind going faster than the speed of light. She understood Emery was, or thought she was, in love with Jon, but to just pack up and move across the country, to a strange place, with a guy who she had only been dating for a blink of the eye... it all seemed wrong. Never mind the fact Annalise was planning on moving in with Joe soon. However, none of these thoughts and worries came out because she loved Emery and wanted to support her friend. She knew it would register that way if she did voice concerns and, more than likely, sound hypocritical.

"I'll miss you." Annalise managed a small sad smile. "You'll be... hundreds of miles away."

"I know…" Emery frowned, trying not to cry, but it was hard because Annalise had been her rock since Colby's murder. "I just don't know if there's any place in Florida I'll feel safe at and Jon refuses to ask Joe to move because of how much he loves it here. Unless there's some kind of compromise that can be made…" Annalise shook her head, explaining they already had an apartment picked out in Pensacola, so she too was moving away from Tampa. "There's always the phone and I'm sure Jon and Joe will end up flying back and forth to see each other. They're closer than brothers."

It was scary to move away from her only support in the world, but if Emery wanted a true fresh start, she had to go someplace as far away from Tampa, Florida as possible. Vegas was perfect, or close to it. Annalise nodded, knowing Emery was right. Jon and Joe were close enough to raise eyebrows from people who didn't know them. Of course, she personally thought their relatively abnormal closeness may have been influenced a bit by the death, or murder, of their other best friend. Joe talked to her a few times about Colby – the Colby he knew and she had always felt bad for her man. The Samoan had no idea what a sick twisted son of a bitch Colby had been and it had broken something in him to discover it.

"Maybe we'll do vacation swapping or something. Come visit, gamble..." She proposed, swiping her palm across her eyes just in case there were tears appearing. "I do get why you want to leave and go as far away as you can Emery, I really do. It'll be a fresh start for you where nobody knows who you are. A clean break."

"Thank you, Anna." Emery whispered, leaning forward to hug the woman tightly around the neck, silent tears sliding down her cheeks the same time Annalise's fell. "I'll never be able to repay you for what you did for me. For standing by my side through the trial and everything. I'll do my best to make you proud and pay you back in time. And no matter how many miles part us, you'll always be my best friend and sister." She pulled back, wiping her tears away and cleared her throat when the front door to the apartment opened, both Joe and Jon stepping inside. "Speak of the devils…"

"I'm going to assume their talking about us and…are you two crying?" Joe frowned apprehensively at his girlfriend, immediately going to check on her and squatted down to take her hand in his. "What's wrong?"

"I just broke the news to her." Emery explained, standing from the couch so Joe could sit beside Annalise and joined Jon's side, leaning against him sniffling. "Didn't think it would hit us both this hard…"

"What news?"

Now Emery was looking up at a guilt-ridden Jon, blinking. "You didn't tell him yet?"

"What's going on, bro?"

Jon hadn't told Joe because, while they had submitted their information for a few apartments, they hadn't heard back yet, so nothing was 100% written in stone. Sure, they were going soon, but he wanted to make sure it was definite. That and Joe was his brother, blood practically and, after everything they had been through over the past year with Colby's murder, it wouldn't be easy to tell the Samoan he was moving across the country with Emery.

"Um... Joe... I-"

The small part of Annalise, that still did not trust Jon, was seriously amused. Though she did feel bad for her boyfriend.

"Emery and I are moving in together."

"About time." Joe knew that couldn't be all of it and just waited for the bomb to drop.

Jon flashed the most obstinate smile ever.

"In Vegas." Emery finished when Jon hesitated, taking his hand and looked up into her boyfriend's eyes, cracking a small smile. "We want to get out of this hellhole full of unhappy memories and start new ones. Have a new start with our lives."

It took Joe exactly 3 seconds before the next set of words came out of his mouth. "And you think you're moving without me – I mean us?" He quickly corrected, wrapping an arm around Annalise and kissed the top of her head. "No way, not happening. You better give us some ads 'cause you're not going alone."

"But Joe, what about the apartment we have set up already in Pensacola?" Annalise stared at her boyfriend wide-eyed, blinking.

Joe shrugged, not worried about it. "We haven't moved in yet and until we do, fuck it. We're going to Vegas, baby girl!"

Annalise managed a smile, but on the inside she was screaming due to the fact he still didn't know about her job as a stripper. "O-Okay…"

Now it was Emery's turn to feel bad for her best friend.

Now this was very awkward and Jon didn't know whether to be a total girl and just jump for joy at his best friend tagging along or feel like a world class dick because even he could see Annalise was not overly happy with this. He went for the ice breaker. Jon grabbed Joe's hands and began jumping up and down, doing his best Valley Girl scream.

"Oh mah gawd, Vegas!"

Joe was torn between smacking this idiot or laughing, settling for a feeble swat upside Jon's curly head and laughing at the same time. "It's not like we signed the lease, Lise; it'll be fine. Hell, finding jobs in Vegas will be a lot easier than here."

Jon agreed wholeheartedly. "Casinos, bro, all about the Benjamin's."

Emery took Annalise's hands, jumping up and down with her, the biggest smile on her face. "Maybe we can get that duplex idea and they can have one side and us the other!" She squealed excitedly, aqua glowing practically. "Oh my god, we have to start looking immediately!"

Taking her friend's hand, the girls rushed down the hallway to Emery's bedroom while Joe and Jon stayed in the living room. Emery flipped the laptop open and started looking up duplexes, not realizing or seeing Annalise was on the verge of having a panic attack. She was too excited to move across the country with her best friend and made a mental note to give the Samoan a huge hug for this incredible idea.

"Seriously bro, what the fuck? You can't just invite your big fat Samoan ass along with me and my woman. We need space and-" Jon tried not to grin at the offended look on Joe's face. "Just kidding." He had to duck when a swing came towards him though. "The hell?!"

"You weren't going to tell me?"

"I was!"

"When, jackass?" Jon was not the most reliable guy and forgot things, important things, on a daily basis, such as rent.

"Probably after I was gone, but still... I would've."

Meanwhile, Annalise was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. "Emery, what the HELL am I going to do in Vegas? Be a stripper on the damn strip?!"

"You'll figure it out and, besides, why would you need to work? Joe will take care of you and you can pop him out some beautiful Samoan babies!" Emery had the whole situation planned out perfectly in her head, typing like a madwoman on the laptop. "And if you DO wanna work, go to one of the strip clubs. Joe won't find out. And if he does, so what? He loves you and he's not gonna leave you over a job. Hell, you should've told him about what you were doing when you started stripping. But that's water under the bridge. Come on Anna, we won't be split apart this way!"

"I didn't tell him because we hadn't been seeing each other all that long and I didn't want him to be jealous. He's a man and men can be idiots!"

Annalise was going to strangle Emery. The woman was insanely happy and she could not be typing properly, not with as fast as her fingers were going. When Emery just began laughing, she sighed and opened the door.

"I'VE BEEN STRIPPING FOR CASH!" She bellowed before shutting it again.

"Wait... is your woman... a-" That actually made a lot of sense all things considered. Also, it explained why Emery had been considering entering that line of work. "Wow..."

"Well... um..." 

Emery gaped at her best friend, not believing Annalise just did that! She just blindsided her poor boyfriend by shouting her secret out of a door! Had Annalise lost her mind? Instead of yelling, she started laughing hysterically and laid back on the bed, holding her stomach.

"You're insane! You're absolutely insane! Get your ass out there and talk to him before his Samoan head explodes or he jumps out a window!"

"Oh no, I'm going to sit back here and let him fucking stew on it. He just decided we were moving to Vegas. He can take one for the team or whatever..." Annalise dropped down on the edge of the bed, glaring at the door, basically waiting for Joe to come bursting in. What she did not expect was to hear the men laughing out in the living room.

"I'm not asking... I don't want to know..."

"Hey man, if I had tits, I'd be all over that man candy." Jon had started humming some cheesy stripper music and Joe began wiggling his hips in exaggerated lewd circles. They were dicks. "Seriously bro, you chill with her... uh..."

"I know what bed she's in at the end of the night..." Joe wasn't insecure about his woman. "Hell, explains her damn fine muscular legs..."

"I got 10 bucks in ones; get stripping."

Both Emery and Annalise raised eyebrows at each other while hearing the cheesy humming coming from Jon, followed by low whistling. "Okay, what the hell are they doing out there?" She demanded, looking over at Annalise, who had the same questionable look in her eyes. "I figured Joe would end up exploding and we'd have to clean up Samoan brains for the next couple days."

Annalise shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Okay – alright come on!" She groaned, yanking Emery by the hand out the door and they both stopped at the sight of Joe, with his pants down, gyrating his boxer brief covered junk in front of Jon. "WHAT THE FUCK?"

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

In Joe's defense, his junk was sort of contained in his boxer briefs, which were great because unlike traditional boxers, they were damn good at keeping anything from popping out the slit for easy access when pissing. However, there really wasn't any explaining of this situation. So... he merely kept dancing, hands folded behind his head, hips circling in some pretty wide exaggerated swings.

"Come on, you cheapskate!"

The look on the girls' faces was priceless... and the remaining 6 bucks in Jon's hand almost fell to the floor, but he clenched his fingers around the loose bills, trying not to split a rib. "I don't know, you're a pretty piss poor dancer... and the goods, eh..."

Annalise's jaw hit the floor when Joe simply turned and began clenching his butt cheeks in time to the music Jon began humming again. "Oh my God... this is... this is wrong, on so many levels."

Emery was on her knees by now, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face and somehow managed to record some of the moment on her cell phone. There was no way she would miss out on this memory and would make sure to forward it to Annalise. "And to think," She paused, slowly getting to her feet again and kept giggling, shaking her head. "We actually have sex with these goofs."

"And we're moving out of state with them."

"In a side-by-side duplex."

"Where we'll all be either really happy or really miserable."

"Here's a bright side: There will never be a dull moment in our lives again with these two."

"Point taken." Annalise tossed Joe's pants at him and they smacked him in the face, making her laugh all over again. "Get dressed, we've got work to do since we're moving to Vegas now."

"Man, they always ruin our fun!" Joe grumbled good-naturedly, pulling his pants on and heaved Annalise into his arms, softly kissing her lips. "Admit it, you enjoyed the show."

"No because I'd much rather have your junk in my face, not Jon's."

"You want my junk in your face?" Jon quipped, then frowned, rethinking that. "No, wait. Strike that. You don't want Joe's junk in my face."

"Shut up, Jon. You're not helping the whole 'these guys are goofs' thing." Joe reached down and pulled out the 4 dollars from the waist of his boxer briefs. "You're a cheap customer, bro."

"Next time, show off the goods and you'll get the full 10." Jon shook his head when Joe offered him back the money. "Nah, keep it. I don't need your ball sweat."

"Is he this slow all the time?" Annalise looked up at the Samoan and snuggled against his side, relieved he wasn't angry at her about keeping her stripping job from him.

"Mostly."

"Hey! I resent that! He's smart with certain things." Emery tried defending her man, smiling up at him and wondered what it would take to get him to strip for her privately.

"Right and how long have you known him?" Joe shot back, sliding his hand down Annalise's back to squeeze her backside, grey eyes slowly turning darker at the thought of his girlfriend's strong legs and thighs he'd mentioned earlier. They would definitely be using her stripping techniques in the bedroom.

"I said certain things."

"On that note, we'll take our leave and keep you updated on what's going on. Start looking for duplexes."

Annalise dragged Joe out the door and closed it behind her before World War III commenced.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"So," Emery turned her full attention on Jon, folding her arms in front of her chest. "How long have you been waiting to have Joe's junk gyrate in your face like that?"

"Years, the man is built. Long ass legs, pert ass... fucking fantastic abs..." Jon fanned his face with his hands, sighing lustily. When Emery actually stared at him like he had lost his mind, he began sniggering. "Look, never said I was normal." If he ever swung that way, sure, Joe was a handsome guy. But Jon doubted Joe would be open to being on the bottom because there was no way HE would ever take that position. "So, a duplex huh?" It was a bit weird, how it had gone from them to moving to Vegas to all of them moving.

"I don't know now. I really don't wanna move to Vegas with you, Joe and Annalise, only for us girls to end up with the short end of the stick. Maybe you two lover boys should go to Vegas, get hitched and be happy?" Emery suggested, having a poker face and sauntered past Jon to the kitchen, needing something to drink after all the laughing she'd done. "Hell, you two could probably get your own Magic Mike show going in Vegas."

"What the hell is that? And is gay marriage legal in Nevada? Because if it is, sorry darlin', but my heart belongs to a tall, dark and stripper-ish Samoan." Jon feigned, letting his hands flutter over his heart before following her to the kitchen. His appetite had nothing to do with laughing, he was just hungry and wanted sandwiches. "So, are we really going to do the duplex thing then?"

Considering Annalise seemed to tolerate him and only barely liked him, Jon deliberated how that would play out. He was wondering how a lot of stuff would play out. A lot of this was happening so damn fast. Plopping on the couch, Emery took a bite out of the sandwich she made and handed one over to Jon, curling up against the cushion away from him shrugging.

"I don't know yet. Depends if we can find one, I suppose. I just don't want them moving out there with us and we end up miles apart from each other. Besides, if you guys need your stripper lover moments with each other, you can go use one side of the duplex and Anna and I will use the other for our own _fun_." Emery chortled at Jon's stoic expression and brought her feet up to rest on the back of the couch, continuing to eat.

Their own fun... Jon didn't know what to make of that. Sure, he had visited porn sites and watched it. He knew what strippers and other paid ladies of dubious professions did in their off-time. They made lesbian porn. Jon smirked slightly, trying to imagine his somewhat innocent Emery scissoring with another chick. Wait no, now he was jealous.

"Okay no, none of that. I'm not sharing." He affirmed, taking a large bite from his sandwich and grunted.

"If I have to share, so do you. It goes both ways, baby." Emery informed him sweetly, finishing her sandwich and set the paper plate on the coffee table, snuggling further into the couch. She wondered if Annalise would mind making a video for the guys, just to drive them crazy and make them realize maybe their gay tendencies weren't as strong as they thought. "Hmm maybe I'll buy some new lingerie for Anna too…" Screwing with Jon was too tempting to resist.

"Sure, go ahead."

Jon yawned as he draped his arm around her, tipping his head back and closed his eyes. A slight smile curved his lips, though he did not say what he was thinking. He liked living and having his boys attached way too much. Considering Annalise was actually stripping for cash, she'd probably just wind up incorporating the new lingerie into her act somehow.

"So how come Annalise never told Joe about her job?" He asked curiously, not opening his eyes.

"No idea, not my business." Emery would not get involved in her best friend's personal life when it came to her line of work. "I'm surprised how well Joe took the news of it and she was too. At least we didn't have to clean up Samoan brains all over the apartment from his head exploding." She had voiced that concern while in the bedroom alone with Annalise earlier during the beginning of Jon and Joe's stripper fun. Her cell phone rang, jolting both out of their relaxed positions and Emery pulled it out of her pocket to answer it, placing it against her ear. "Hello?"

There was no answer. Only background noise, something faint and hard at first to make out. When Emery repeated 'hello', it started getting louder. At her third hello, music started playing. When Emery just stared off into space, looking jumbled, Jon got curious and shifted to look down at her, tilting his head. Her expression went from confused to familiar, as if she recognized something and then turned into a combination of scared and anger.

"Emery? Who is it?"

It was her and Colby's song playing quite audibly now with someone talking very softly, barely able to be heard over the music.

"Emery?"

A Day to Remember 'Have Faith in Me'.

No matter how much Emery wanted to drop the phone and smash it to pieces, she couldn't. It'd been so long since she heard this song, the lyrics near the end always killed her because she never thought her and Colby would end up splitting or him being murdered. Emery didn't pay attention to Jon, clutching the phone tightly against her ear to the point where her knuckles turned ghostly white. Once the song ended fully, Emery finally dropped the phone to the carpeted floor and felt Jon's hands on her shoulders, immediately reaching back to grab one of them.

"W-We need to move as soon as possible."

A few tears slid down her cheeks as Emery turned to bury her face in Jon's chest, holding onto him for dear life. Jon heard the faint music, not able to make out the words, but heard the chords playing. It wasn't anything he had been able to place off the top of his head nor did it sound familiar, from what little he perceived. It was something she was definitely familiar with though, holding the phone like it was her lifeline, listening to it all the way through. Jon couldn't fathom describing the expression on her face either. It actually hurt him, on some level, to see the way Emery had looked. Her reaction afterwards, that was heartbreaking and all he could do was hold her, wanting to ask what the hell that had been about, but knowing right now she just needed comfort.

"Sorry." Emery whispered once she calmed down and pulled away from Jon to wipe her tears away, smoothing out the wet stains on his t-shirt she caused.

Why had the song affected her so deeply? She didn't love Colby Lopez, not after all the cruel things he'd done to her. But that song reminded her of the good times between them. Before Colby lost his mind and became a monster. He was sweet and kind, always bringing her flowers. The song…the band…it was their favorite and they chose that particular song because both vowed to always have faith in the other, to never let go of what they had, no matter what. Emery had tried keeping that vow, but being raped and beaten on a daily basis slowly melted her faith in Colby into nothing. It made Emery realize if she didn't do everything in her power to keep Jon in her life, she may never be as happy as she was again.

"We need a song." It was out of left field and she saw the misperception fill his pale blues, stroking his face with her hand. "I mean it, Jon. We need a song we both love and it reminds us of each other."

Sometimes, Jon had to wonder about Emery. He already knew she was a bit off her rocker, but given her history and what had happened, he tended to forgive her for being... quirky. "Uh, where did this come from, Emery?" He inquired, staring down at her intently. Whatever song had played, it triggered something in her, something that had made her blurt out they had to move away fast and now they needed a song. "What was that on the phone?"

Why did he want to know? Why did he need to know? Was it that big of a deal she wanted them to have a song?

"Somebody is fucking with me again regarding Colby. That call was…It was the song we designated as our own. And I haven't heard it in over a year until now…" Emery took his hand and guided Jon down the hallway to her room. "I'm not comparing you to him, but what I had with him, I want with you. And picking a song out together we both love, and it reminds us of what we have now, will do that. It'll be just another connection we have, you know?"

"Time out, Emery." Jon stopped her from going any further or doing anything else. "Darlin', listen to yourself. You want what you had with him, but with me? I'm not Colby." Jon was doing a great job of keeping his tone even, his face contorting in different emotions from this situation. "And what we have is never going to be like what you and Colby had, and it shouldn't be either. When, if, we pick a song, it's not going to be because..." He exhaled through his nose, trying to maintain his temper. "It's not going to be because someone called you and played what used to be your song with another man."

"It's not – That's not what I meant." Emery sat down on the bed, feeling rejected and vulnerable, lowering her eyes to the floor. "Jon, I don't want the kind of love with you I had with Colby. I just meant…" This was frustrating because she couldn't find the right words to say, to explain. "I don't want you to be Colby. I want you to be you, just the way you are. I want YOU, Jon, nobody else. I want to tie myself to you every way possible. To have as many connections to you as I can. Because I'm in love with you." She looked up at him when she confessed the truth, tears swimming in her eyes. "And I know you don't feel that way about me and I didn't want to say it this soon, but it's the truth. I am. I love you. And if you even think about saying it's because of Colby or that damn song I just heard, I'll punch you in the nose."

She'd felt this way for a while, ever since Jon left her life for a month and returned. Ever since they made love for the first time at the hotel. Hell, it could've been before that, but Emery refused to acknowledge it until Jon came back into her life. It was new, raw, powerful and scared her every time Emery thought about another man taking hold of her heart. She just hoped Jon cherished it instead of crushing it into dust the way Colby had.

"Killer, I believe that you love me and you want to be with me, but the song thing – sorry, not happening today because it IS because of that call."

Speaking of the call, why weren't they discussing and worrying about that? Someone was screwing with her again, after all this time. Instead of freaking out about it, Emery was more concerned about them not having a song of their own now. Jon did not understand women.

"Fine, you win." Emery rolled her eyes and fell back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. "But I did mean what I said about needing to move immediately. The sooner we get the hell out of Tampa, the better off we'll be."

Speaking of moving…Emery opened her laptop and began looking up more duplexes with Jon, getting her mind off of the phone call with her and Colby's song. Colby was dead and gone, never to return again. Jon was here, flesh and blood, everything she could've wanted in a man. And she just admitted her feelings for him.

"What about this one?"

His mind was flipped, again. Someone had called her and played her and Colby's old song, which left a horrible taste in his mouth. She had then decided they needed a song and now –now it was back to house hunting. Loving Emery was like riding a Tilt-a-Whirl sometimes. It would never be boring, that was for sure. Sighing, Jon dropped down beside her and looked at the laptop, taking in the pictures of the duplex.

"Is the other side open for our stalkers or do we not care?" He asked, trying to inject some lightness and humor into his tone.

"Both sides are open." Emery confirmed after reading the description and took Jon's cell phone from him to dial a number. When the voicemail sounded in her ear, she left a message sounding professional and pleasant before hanging up, tossing it back at him. "Now we wait."

Hating the waiting game, Emery closed the laptop and cupped Jon's face in her hands to softly kiss him. Rubbing her nose against his, she couldn't wipe the smile on her face away, even after the freaky phone call with the song reminding her of the past. Instead of living in the past, Emery vowed right then and there to start living in the present and future with the man in front of her.

"I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to leave the past where it's meant to be."

That sounded good to him. Jon was going to attribute Emery's little lapse in sanity to possibly an approaching period or something. Carefully, he moved her laptop off the bed and onto the floor before adding his cell down there as well. Not as carefully, he rolled so he was hovering over her and brushed his lips against hers.

"Say it again." He demanded, caressing her sides with his strong hands. Jon hadn't returned those three words, but still... hearing the L word drop from her gave him a feeling of pure warmth.

She knew exactly what Jon referred to and slid her fingers through his curls, enjoying the balminess of his body on top of her. "I love you, Jon." Emery confessed again, wishing he would say it back, but it would take time for him and she was prepared to be patient.

They'd only been together a month and were moving in together, didn't mean both had to profess their love. Jon had somehow taken her heart and wasn't relinquishing it anytime soon. Maybe one day she would have his in return. Then again, maybe not. No, Emery wouldn't be pessimistic about this and brought his mouth down on hers, no other words needing to be spoken. Only months ago, Jon had kidnapped and tortured her. They had walked a very twisted road to reach this point and he figured, if they didn't find anything in Vegas, they could sell the rights to their story for a movie or something. Everything else was forgotten as he got to work on showing his affection, love, whatever it was he felt for Emery. He might not have been able to say the words she wanted to hear, but he could definitely show her through actions how he truly felt.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"So are you sure you want to move to Vegas?" Annalise asked 2 weeks later, packing up the dishes in Joe's kitchen since his lease was up in 3 days.

Why did Joe always have to wait until the last minute to pack? Annalise couldn't figure it out for the life of her and didn't bother trying. He hadn't told her about needing his belongings out of his apartment until the previous night, after they spent hours making love in his king sized bed. It was the only reason they stayed at his bachelor pad, honestly. That reason and the fact Jon and Emery had taken over the apartment the women shared together. Annalise couldn't remember the last time she saw her best friend as happy as she was with Jonathan Good. She still couldn't understand what had changed between them and still stuck with the notion Emery suffered a severe case of Stockholm syndrome.

Joe rose a thick black brow in his beauty's direction, wrapping bowls in newspaper. "Yeah, why do you ask?" She hadn't mentioned ever since they had a long talk about a month prior and both decided to follow their best friends to end of the earth, if they had to. "Having second thoughts?"

"No – yes – I don't know." Annalise set the wrapped plate in the box and stopped packing, walking over to stare out the window heaving a sigh. "I just want to make sure it's what you want and you're not doing it because of me…"

Setting the wrapped bowl in the box on top of another one, Joe walked over to join his girlfriend and encircled her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Baby girl, I'll go anywhere you go. If you wanna go to Vegas, I'm all for it. I know how close you and Emery are. You just got her back after 6 long months because she was locked up for something she didn't do. I get it. Pensacola was a nice idea, but my heart wasn't set on it. The only thing I'm worried about is being with you."

Why did he have to be so sweet and kind? This made Annalise's talk she wanted to have so much harder because of her boyfriend saying all the right things. "We never really…discussed my job…" Not once did it come up, even during the long conversation about moving to Vegas with their best friends and it unnerved Annalise, to say the least. "I need to know right now if you think any differently of me."

Granted, their sex life had turned up several notches, Joe bending her in ways Annalise didn't think was humanly possible. Good thing she started doing yoga, a colleague at work recommending it to her to help her body work the pole easier on stage. Even though she took her clothes off for men in order to make a living and knew how to please her man in the bedroom, Annalise didn't want their relationship based on just sex alone. She wanted something deeper, a connection nobody could sever and already knew her heart belonged to Joe.

Truthfully, Joe had a long thought process regarding Annalise job and decided he couldn't tell her what to do with her life. If she wanted to do it, who was he to demand her to stop? Like he told Jon, at the end of the night his bed was the one Annalise ended up in and that's all that mattered to him. For now anyway. If they stayed together for a long period of time, eventually, Joe wanted to get married and have babies, so Annalise would have no choice except to stop stripping.

"If I was bothered, baby girl, you'd know it." He cupped her face in his strong hands and captured her mouth, pressing her back against the wall near the window. "I trust you."

That meant a lot to Annalise to hear, a small smile stretching across her glossy lips. "Really? You're not just saying that, right? You actually mean it?"

Mentioning marriage and babies right now would not be in Joe's best interest, especially when he hadn't even told Annalise he loved her yet. "Yeah, I do. Want me to prove it to you?" His hand slid down her side until it cupped her jean covered crotch, Annalise groaning at the contact.

"W-We really need to finish packing you up first, handsome. Then we can do whatever you want." Annalise felt the shorts loosen around her hips and Joe's hand disappeared beneath her panties, his fingers coming in contact with her bundle of nerves. "J-Joe…"

"I think we deserve a break." Joe growled in her ear, working her body into a frenzy and enjoyed hearing how breathless Annalise was at his administrations. "Any objections, beautiful?"

How could she deny him anything? Annalise shook her head and felt Joe lift her, wrapping her legs around his waist instinctively. He turned and planted her backside on the kitchen table, the chairs pulled out already since Annalise mopped the floor earlier. It was sparkling clean, but Joe had a feeling they were about to mess it up again, his mouth sealing to the side of her neck. Annalise lulled her head back, unraveling the bun his thick soft black hair was in and tossed the holder over her shoulder, burying her fingers in the dark tresses. She had an obsession with his hair, playing with it often whenever they laid in bed, or anywhere they made love, naked.

"Now then, let's see how flexible you are for me…" Joe growled, removing the shorts and panties within moments and brought both of her legs up to rest against his chest.

They stood straight up in the air with Annalise leaning back on her elbows, eyes never leaving stormy smoldering greys. This would be a fast intense session, her pussy already dripping with anticipation to feel Joe's powerful cock make her climax for him. They hadn't broken in the kitchen table yet and Joe wanted to rectify it before it had to be packed away for their big cross-country move. Pushing her down to lay on her back, Joe gripped her feet and used them to thrust in and out of her receptive body, not wasting time with foreplay. Plenty of time for that later. Right now, all he wanted to do was focus on making Annalise feel like a woman instead of a dirty stripper, to prove to her they were more than just great sex.

* * *

Miraculously, the duplex was available to move into within a month, which gave both couples just enough time to cut their ties in Tampa before the big move to Vegas. Emery was ecstatic, Annalise was still nervous and had quit her stripping job in order to start helping pack with both Joe and Jon working to scrounge every dime they could out of their jobs. Emery also kept her job, putting her 2 weeks in, so she would have at least a month's pay or more going to Vegas. Nobody would pay her way; she wanted to do it on her own even though, Jon would be with her. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, or so it seemed.

The closer it came to moving day, the moodier Jon became. He knew he wasn't making anyone very happy with his ups and downs, highs and lows, but... they all knew he should be on mood pills. To everyone else, it probably seemed like Jon was just being his usual bipolar self. As it was, Jon had a reason for being moody. If he ever got his hands on said reason, he would pop someone's head off at the shoulders. Annalise had quit hooking it, though from his understanding, she had pocketed a tidy bit of change away, so she was set. Joe had been working steady practically since they had come to Tampa, so he was relatively good to go. Jon had quit his proper job in order to go back to the shady one down at the docks where he made better buck with less tax issues.

Emery noticed a change in Jon and kept her distance, letting him work out whatever issues going on in his head. She wanted to help him the same way he helped her, but he wouldn't let her. Every time she asked if he was alright, Jon changed the subject and used sex as a ploy to bypass talking about his problems. Something wasn't right with him, but Emery couldn't put her finger on it. Annalise and Joe were too busy preparing to move with them, so Emery refused to burden them with her pitiful worries. Whenever Jon was ready, he would open up to her and, until then, Emery had to be patient. Sighing, she went back to wrapping the dishes in newspaper since they were two days away from the big move.

Pissed was the understatement of the year. Jon didn't know why he had done it, but he had gone back to that stupid train station and opened the locker of Donnie. He hadn't been there since... well, it had been awhile. Donnie obviously had no use for the thing since he was dead and would hopefully remain lost forever. Nobody would miss him. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, Jon had gone and checked the locker. Maybe that phone call Emery had gotten weeks ago still lingered in the back of his mind. It seemed like every time they thought things had died down, or maybe vanished completely, some new problem popped back up to remind them the real murderer was still out there. Jon had not been overly happy at what he found in the locker.

Before they knew it, the night before the big move arrived and everyone was busy trying to make sure it would go smoothly.

"So what's going on with Jon?" Annalise asked, lifting another box to put it in the U-Haul everyone rented together. "He hasn't been himself lately. Even Joe's noticed."

"I don't know. He won't talk about it and, every time I bring it up, he changes the subject." Emery replied, chewing her bottom lip nervously because Jon's mood swings worried her. "I'm sure once we get out of Tampa, he'll go back to his normal insane self."

"Remind me again why it's a good idea for you to move in with him?"

"I'm in love with him and want to build a future together." Emery cracked a smile, lifting a box herself into the U-Haul. The men were on their way over to help out so they could leave first thing in the morning. "So what's on the agenda for you and Joe on your last night in Tampa?"

"Shower, sex while in the shower and calling it an early night because driving is going to be a bitch and a half."

Her main consolation, with Jon's moodiness back in full swing and her issues with him somewhat peeked, was that at least she would literally be right next door if something were to go wrong. Joe had reassured her time and time again Jon being annoyingly happy one day and ready to stab the sky the next was completely normal. The last thing Annalise wanted to happen was Jon losing his temper and hurting her best friend because of his mood swings.

"How about you? I bet you won't be sorry to leave this place behind." Not after everything that had happened or the damn Stalkerazzi.

"Not the least bit. I can't wait to leave this place behind and start fresh."

Emery would not miss the paparazzi or the 6 months she'd been locked up for a murder she did not commit. All the stalking and mind games from Colby Lopez prior to his death. Feeling like a rat in a cage, unable to escape or hardly breathe for that matter. No, she would not miss any of Tampa, Florida and would never return as long as she lived.

"Sounds about the same plan Jon and I have, if he comes here tonight." She no longer knew what her boyfriend would do these days, wishing they could leave for Vegas tonight.

"He's coming with Joe; he'll be here." Annalise assured soothingly, knowing it had to be hard dating someone like Jon and dealing with the unpredictability. "Maybe he should try a medication or something, just to mellow those mood swings of his out. Or weed – weed would do that too." She suggested, grinning slightly. "Regardless of his issues, Emmy, it's obvious the man cares about you. He might not show it in a conventional sense, but he does care, even I can see that."

"I know he does. Hell, he may even love me. He just hasn't said it yet or isn't ready. I'm fine with that, honestly. I just wish he would trust in me the way I trust in him. I want to help him and he's not letting me. It's frustrating." Emery admitted aloud since it was just her and Annalise right now without prying eyes and ears. "Am I wrong for feeling that way or should I just suck it up and let him do whatever he's gotta do and leave him alone?"

Annalise considered that, finally shrugging. "I don't know, honey. You and Jon haven't been together very long and, before you got together, there was this love/hate relationship. Maybe everything is just catching up to him or maybe he's just on his period and needs a Midol. You can't help how you feel and you're not wrong for it, but at the same time, Jon doesn't really strike me as the type of guy who does things the normal way. I'm sure he'll let you know when he's ready..." For Emery's sake, Annalise hoped she didn't push the issue with Jon simply because Jon would not take it well. "Give him a day or so and, if he doesn't either tell you what's up or get over it, ask him about it."

Aqua eyes snapped to the door as it opened suddenly, Jon and Joe stepping inside with both men looking grave. "What's going on?"

Emery stood up from the couch, not bothering with pleasantries and could see the anger pulsating through Jon's eyes. This wasn't good. Before Joe could open his mouth to respond, Jon suddenly brought up a gun to the Samoan's neck and fired, a needle embedding into his skin. It didn't take long for Joe to hit the floor like a sack of potatoes or Jon to hop over the coffee table, silencing a screaming Annalise with a cloth full of ether over her mouth.

"ANNA!"

Emery stared at the man she fell in love with horrified and immediately bolted down the hallway to her bedroom, slamming the door shut. She flipped the lock on it, rushing to the window and unlocked it, pushing it up kicking the screen out. Just before Emery could make her escape, Jon burst through the door with several shoulder tackles and stopped her, grabbing her leg dangling out the window.

"No! Get away from me!"

One kick nailed him in the gut, forcing Jon to release her. Falling to the grass with a soft thump, Emery scrambled up to her feet and turned to run as far away as she could, only to slam into a brick wall. Or so it felt like. Once her equilibrium was back on track, Emery slowly looked up and felt her eyes widen in shock at the sight of someone she thought was dead and gone.

"Oh my god…Colby?!"


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Colby had seen her from afar through camera lenses, but it had been months since he had been this close to his Emery. _His_ Emery. Something he had to remind Jon of more than once.

"Sweetheart..." He took her in hungrily, eyes roaming her body before landing on her face. Her eyes, beautiful aqua eyes, were filled with perplexity and fear, though he expected the perplexity would disappear once she realized what was going on. "You look like you just seen a ghost."

Jon had to cover his mouth at that one, snorting back a laugh. "Sick, bro." He chuckled, staring out the window down at Emery emotionlessly.

Smirking slightly, Colby peered up into the now screen less window Jon was leaning out of. Jon had a lot of practice coming through that window. He had lurked there quite a bit before hooking up with Emery and easily climbed out of it, joining them on the ground.

"Killer..." He clucked his tongue, blocking her way from one side, Colby on the other and the narrow walls of the alley between them.

He was supposed to be dead! DEAD as in not breathing! Emery heard Jon's chuckling and felt tears slide down her cheeks, slowly backing away from her ex-fiancé. To say Emery was mystified would be the understatement of the century. Colby wasn't dead; he was very much alive standing before her with those evil devious chocolate eyes, Emery beginning to tremble from head to toe. It didn't take much to figure out what was going on here or the fact Jon was working for Colby all along. So the kidnapping and torturing had all been a master plan to either make her miss Colby and wish he was alive or it was another sick twisted game from Colby. Either way, Emery wasn't playing anymore and felt a wave of anger wash over her, fists clenching at her sides.

For months – 6 LONG months – she suffered and was imprisoned for his murder she didn't commit, when there was no murder to begin with! And Jon knew about it all along! Did Joe? If he did, why would Jon knock him out with a tranquilizer dart? No, the poor Samoan bastard didn't have a clue what was happening under his nose. Nobody had except Jon, Colby's partner in crime and accomplice.

"You bastards…" She hissed quietly, looking from Colby to Jon and cringed the moment Colby ran his finger down the tear streak on her cheek. "You know, you should watch where you put that hand…"

"Really?" Colby chuckled, not cottoning onto what Emery was about to do. "Why is that?"

"Because you may just lose it."

Then Emery lashed out, slicing Colby's wrist with the knife contraption she bought a couple weeks back without Jon knowing. It was hidden under the cuff bracelet she wore around her wrist, a new accessory Jon hadn't noticed. Colby screamed out, holding his wrist and Emery swiped Jon's feet from under him with a quick move Annalise taught her, part of self-defense.

"Fuck you both!"

Then she took off down the alleyway as fast as she could, tears flying behind her. There was no way she would end up being raped by that sadist monster ever again. Colby would have to kill her first.

"Bitch – that bitch!" Colby screamed, clutching his wrist. "Go fucking get her!"

"Colby, that could be-"

"Just go get her and bring her to the spot! Fuck!"

With trembling fingers, Colby ripped the bottom of his shirt to wrap the deep laceration, stemming the blood flow. Leaving Colby to it, Jon took off after Emery. His backside and the back of his head were throbbing a bit and he felt his lips curving upwards into a grin. It looked like his Killer had picked up some new tricks and toys, never bothering to fill him in on it. He hadn't been the only one holding out.

Emery kept running until she was out of breath and didn't look back, arriving in a parking lot lined with parked cars. One of them had to be open so she could hotwire it, right? It was worth a shot. Annalise and Joe were back at the apartment; Emery had to get them all to safety, but how? She was just a woman, a defenseless woman, who just slashed her ex-fiancé's wrist and made the man she was in love with land on his backside. Maybe she wasn't that helpless after all. It hurt her to run away from Jon because she had trusted him and given him her heart. The first man she fell for after Colby and he turned out to be a psycho coconspirator of her ex-fiancé she despised! After this, Emery wondered if maybe turning lesbian was the right way to go. Her heart stopped at the sound of whistling followed by Jon's voice and immediately ducked behind a vehicle to avoid him spotting her.

"So this was all a plan, huh? To make me vulnerable and easy for that sorry son of a bitch? I trusted you, Jon. I thought you were different, but you're just like every other asshole in the world. I'm just glad we never made it to Vegas because god knows there's a lot of places to bury a dead body in the desert."

He knew this game and this woman quite well. Jon had spent months stalking her and then months... doing other things that were far more pleasant than chasing her through a parking lot. He was only whistling as a courtesy and because it amused him.

"Actually, the plan was..." Jon drawled, then stopped, halting on the pavement and tapped his shoe thoughtfully, reaching back to scratch at his curls. "Hmm, I forget. Plans are usually lost on me. I'm not a plan type of guy, Killer, you know that." Her talking was her problem and he eventually rounded the cars to stare down at her, not moving towards her, just surveyed. "There's plenty of places to get rid of bodies around here too, Emery."

"I know."

The moment he moved toward her, Emery's hand swiped out with the blade sticking out and slashed across Jon's chest, cutting through the material of his t-shirt. Blood slowly seeped through the material, the cut not that deep and Emery took off around the vehicle she'd been hiding behind. Jon would have to kill her before she'd go back to Colby and then she'd destroy him once he joined her in the afterlife.

"I'm not going back to him. You'll have to kill me to make it happen. I won't go without a fight."

Over the past month, Emery noticed a change in Jon and decided to protect herself, feeling deep in her gut something wasn't right with him. The sex was rougher and tapered off. There were nights Jon would vanish and he wouldn't come back for several days, acting as if nothing was wrong. She asked Annalise's friend at the diner, Robin, to help her with self-defense since the woman ran a class for it. It was her best friend's idea, actually. Both women took it secretively, just in case they would ever need to defend themselves. It was also where Emery received the wrist contraption currently saving her from two psychos. Annalise had one too, but she didn't have it on when Jon knocked her out and Emery could only hope she wasn't dead.

"I knew it was too good to be true, that you really didn't care about me. Hell, I'm an idiot for even dropping the L bomb to the likes of you. Should've kept it strictly sex and kicked your ass to the curb when I had the chance. I hope it was worth it, asshole. I hope you got your lickings because it'll be the last time you ever touch me." If she had to really commit murder in order to escape her own demise, Emery would do it and not think twice.

"Well Killer," Jon was laughing even though being slashed hurt and was ironic. She was finally living up to her nickname. "Considering you had relationship issues before me and you were all kinds of willing to dive into some serious rushed crap with me... like... picking out a song? Moving to Vegas? How long were we _together_? Hmm? A month or two? Sex is great, but it doesn't equal love, Emery; something you don't seem to learn."

He was actually bleeding, not a lot, but if he didn't stop the bleeding, it would become problematic. This had to end quickly. He approached her cautiously because she made it clear she had no problem in slicing and dicing him in order to make a quick getaway. His eyes strayed past her to stare down at the new accessory, seeing his blood staining the tip of the blade.

"Where'd you get that lovely little toy?"

He was right. Emery had leapt too far, way too fast and got burned for it. Crying wouldn't solve any issues, but yet tears slid down her face anyway and her heart shattered in her chest all over again. Emery never thought she'd have a vicious bone in her body, but apparently when her own life was on the line, she did. Anyone who wanted to live did. In Jon's own words, anyone was capable of murder in certain situations or circumstances.

"A friend of mine. That's all you need to know. Stay away from me. Just say the fuck away from me, Jon, or so help me god I will end you." The reason Emery moved fast with Jon was because…because she trusted him and fell in love with him. Why else would she agree to move across the country with him to Las Vegas with their dearest friends? "I hope Joe destroys you for what you've done to him and Annalise. You've got a lot more to worry about than me, so if I were you, I'd leave town before Colby Lopez ends up getting your fool ass killed, asshole."

Her eyes stayed locked on him while Emery continued keeping a fair amount of distance between them, breathing raggedly from all the running she'd done. Man was she out of shape! Jon had known Emery had malicious bones in her body because she had shown him just how bipolar she could be when provoked. Before they had started sleeping together, when they had their love/hate thing going on, she was a verbal shrew. He also told her that, under the right circumstances, she could be a killer. He was pleased to see he was right.

"Right... because I'm scared of Joe? Emery... darlin', you've seen what I can do, you know what I've done. Do you really think I'm the kind of guy who worries?"

Jon had killed for her or did she forget that? Sneaking up behind her with his wrist wrapped in the ragged remains of his shirt, Colby made sure to pin that wrist of hers against her side. She could stab her herself instead of one of them.

"You, sweetheart, need a lesson." He panted in her ear, nodding at Jon. "Good job."

There was more than one part of her body to use as a weapon. Robin taught her how to get out of a predicament like this and it involved crushing her skull against Colby's nose. She heard the crack as it reverberated around the parking lot and ducked Jon coming at her, kicking him as hard as she could in the backside to make him land on top of Colby while holding his gushing nose.

"LESSON THAT, BASTARD!" She shrieked, taking off out of the parking lot and once again didn't look back, heart pounding furiously in her chest.

Her head hurt and it made her slightly dizzy, but Emery couldn't stop no matter what. She had to keep going until she could find someone, anyone, to help her. Coming up to a tall fence, Emery jumped on it and began climbing, thankful she was wearing her running shoes. All the training while Jon was off doing his thing with Colby, apparently, had definitely paid off. Hopping over the other side, Emery cursed landing on a piece of metal that slashed her arm, blood running out of it. She immediately held her hand over it and continued running, knowing the fence would slow Jon and Colby down a little. Maybe it would be enough time to get away from them, maybe not. Like she said, she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Seriously, where the fuck did she learn this shit?" Colby demanded, glaring at Jon for a moment before they took off chasing after Emery.

Hadn't the man been keeping an eye on her like he was supposed to? Colby knew Jon had kept more than an eye on her and, eventually, his friend would pay for it. Right now, however, he needed Jon to capture his feisty fiancée before she ran into someone who might actually help her. Jon had kept eyes, hands, mouth and everything else he could on her, but this past month had been... hectic, to say the least. He just let Colby waste his breath, opting to focus on running and scaling the same tall fence Emery had. Pale blues narrowed in on a piece of metal coated in red and Jon knew instantly Emery was hurt.

The laceration was a lot deeper than Emery thought, blood pouring down her arm coating it in red liquid through her fingers. Dizziness became more intense and Emery had to stop running, leaning back against a wall before sliding down it. Her eyes were glazed over, more than likely from a concussion suffered from cracking her ex-fiancé in the nose. The darkness was quickly swallowing her whole and Emery accepted it, slumping over aqua eyes closing. Luckily, she hadn't hit a major artery; it was just a deep cut and, as long as she didn't lose too much blood, she would be fine. Hell, even Emery knew as she fell into unconsciousness she would be anything but the moment she woke up, if she survived the blood loss.

"Why Jon?" Emery whispered, tears slowly falling down her sweaty face and felt her head hit the gravelly pavement, finally passing out.

Jon frowned, surveying the damage. She probably had a concussion, so her falling asleep was not a good thing. Taking inventory of the cut on her arm, it was definitely deeper than the one she had given Colby. Blood loss and the concussion... she had messed herself up pretty good. Sighing, Jon crouched down and began tending to her arm, using his own tank top to bind the wound, wrapping his hand around it.

"Damn it Killer..."

"What'd you do to her?" Colby demanded, watching Jon walk up to him carrying an unconscious bloody Emery. "I said rough her up if necessary, not knock her out."

Jon made a rumbling noise from deep in his chest that might have passed as a growl.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Sometime the next day, Emery slowly opened her eyes and hissed in pain, her arm searing with it. Her upper right arm was heavily bandaged along with her head, only realizing it by lifting her uninjured arm to feel the gauze on her forehead. Emery could instantly tell she wasn't in her bedroom at the apartment, not recognizing her surroundings at first. Then she did, looking around at the walls with no windows and only one door to walk in and out of. Of course it was locked. This was the same place Jon and Joe had taken her when they kidnapped her. She was back where it all started with Jon. Managing to sit up, Emery knew she was being watched and promptly flipped the double bird at the camera in the corner before looking away, beginning to unwrap her arm to check the extensive damage. The damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. She had lucked out, somewhat, and not hit anything major. She would survive and Jon was fairly good with patching people up. He had a lot of practice on himself. Jon watched her from his chair, leaning back with eyes on the camera and, at the same time, listened to Colby's footsteps in the house. After a few minutes, he leaned forward to hit the speaker button.

"Hey Killer, how're you holding up?" Jon bet her head hurt like hell and now he could hear Colby treading towards that room, frowning.

Emery hated the fact Jon was still in the house with Colby. She figured he would've either bounced, left her alone with her ex-fiancé or been killed off by now. "You do realize he'll kill you when he doesn't need you anymore, right? You need to get out while you still can."

Why did she still care about him? Hadn't Jon proven he didn't give a damn about her? Why did Emery feel the need to protect him, even after he betrayed her? Maybe because, for the month they were together and everything was nearly perfect, Emery saw a side of him she knew Jon didn't show to anyone. Not even Joe. She could hear footsteps outside of the door and felt every part of her body go rigid, immediately scooting back on the bed with her good arm as far away from the door as possible. Colby would not take what wasn't his, not unless he killed her and had sex with her dead corpse first.

This woman... even now, after everything, still had no proper sense of self-preservation. Yes, she might've picked up some new toys and even learned new tricks, but underneath that badass exterior Emery had temporarily exhibited, she was still the same, crazy bipolar broad with Stockholm's who had forgiven him for kidnapping and torturing her and then fell in love with him. Jon watched as the door opened, knowing Colby was getting ready to... he pushed away from the desk and monitors. Why watch when he could just join?

"Emery, my sweet Emery…" Colby crooned once the door opened and didn't bother closing it behind him, knowing she was in no condition to fight him off right now. This would be easy pickings, not that she didn't deserve everything he planned doing to her. "How's the arm, gorgeous?"

"Tell me how you did it." Emery demanded, wrapping her arms around herself in spite of the current pain she was in, hot tears burning her eyes. "I should've known you being dead was too good to be true. The disappearance of your body made me leery and now I know why."

"You were always smarter than I gave you credit for." Colby amended, slowly moving toward the bed until he knelt on it, dark eyes devouring her whole. "Faking my death was easy. Simply had Jon 'shoot' me." He did the quotation marks with his fingers, smirking wickedly. "Of course, he really didn't, but we had to make it look convincing. Paid off the coroner and police that showed up on scene as well. It's amazing what money does these days!"

"I lost 6 months of my life because of you." Emery accused, staying on the far side of the bed away from him and clenched her fists the closer Colby came toward her. "And for what? To prove a point that you will always be in control of me? I got news for you, Lopez, you will NEVER have that type of power over me again! I fucked your accomplice currently watching this every which way possible and even let him pop my anal cherry. The ONE thing you never could do because of your puny dick. So eat that, you psycho bastard!"

Jon could hear her yelling because Colby was an idiot, who hadn't bothered shutting the door, so everything Emery screamed he heard clear as a bell. When she screeched out that bit about the anal cherry popping, he had to bite down on his knuckle so he wouldn't burst out laughing, shaking his head. Woman had brass balls, one of the many reasons Jon was attracted to her. Yawning, he stepped into the room and took in the scene before him.

"Now – now kids, let's play nicely together."

"Your assistance is not required for this, Jon." Colby asserted through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the venom Emery had spat at him. Jon taking her backside... him having a puny dick... He was not happy and could feel his blood boiling.

"Go ahead, beat me up like you did before, Lopez. Rape me and take what's NOT yours. It doesn't matter what you do to me because at least, for a brief period of time, I was happy with someone other than your stupid ass. I was sexually satisfied the way you never could muster up. And I don't regret a single solitary second of it, even if the dick pleasuring me was helping you all along. It doesn't matter. The point is: It wasn't YOU." Emery spat venomously, refusing to back down from the likes of Colby Lopez or Jon.

Deep in her heart, she still loved Jon and couldn't understand why, this betrayal almost being her undoing. To survive what Colby was about to do to her, Emery would have to dig deep down and pull those memories of her and Jon happy together to the surface. It was the same thing she did whenever Colby beat and raped her in Davenport, Emery thought of happier times they had to get through it and to stay strong.

"Just know that every time you rape me in this room, I will be thinking of your sidekick and not you."

His erection, his longing to be buried deep in HIS Emery's pussy was gone. It had been over 8 months, hell over 9, since the last time he had been balls deep in her and now – now she was killing off his ability to do it again. And she was doing it by spewing poison about JON! His best friend, his accomplice, and apparently her very excellent lover. She had been right, Colby planned on killing Jon, but it wasn't personal. Colby didn't need any loose ends to his crimes. Now, however, it was a bit personal.

"Yeah, think about my sidekick..." He snarled, not moving from his spot and his eyes turned into black pools of rage.

Considering that Jon had made her scream, squirt, and call him God in tongues, he smirked, quietly approaching the bed. He stood behind Colby, wondering if the idiot even realized he was there and locked eyes with Emery. The maniac smile widening, he raised a finger to his lips. What the hell? Colby knew Jon was in the room, didn't he? Or was he so consumed with punishing her he didn't realize what was happening? Emery's head felt like it may explode, so much bafflement swirling through her eyes.

"Don't worry, Lopez; I plan on it." Emery promised, moving to sit on her knees on the bed and kept him focused on her, aqua eyes nothing more than pure ice. "Go ahead," She tapped the side of her face tauntingly with her finger, daring Colby to make one move toward her. "Hit me. Show me what a big bad man you are. Just know it's not you in my mind or my heart anymore, Lopez. It's your buddy boy, the man you trusted to bend me to your will. Guess what? He bent me in all sorts of ways, just not how YOU wanted."

She really was pushing her luck showing off that fiery spirit Jon remembered quite well from the last time she had been locked up in this room. As well as afterwards, when she had not been fond of him. The back and forth arguments they had were amusing, if not somewhat head turning.

"You're going to regret this, whore." Colby informed her, raising his hand.

She wanted to provoke him, knowing him as well as she did? Knowing what would happen to her? Fine, then he would give Emery what she wanted, just like he always had. Jon caught that raised hand before it could move, clenching Colby's fingers in his fist rather tightly.

"Colby, at this point, I am officially bored with your resurrection." His tone laced with humor, though his pale blues were frosted over and deadly.

Emery's jaw dropped the moment Jon captured Colby's fingers and curled them into his palm tightly, almost to the point of breaking his entire wrist. It was also the same wrist she slashed and currently heavily bandaged. The fact Jon had stopped Colby from striking her made Emery question every single thing that happened from the second Jon infused Joe's body with the tranquilizer dart and forcefully knocked Annalise out with an ether-soaked cloth. What the hell was going on? Whose side was Jon on? Colby's, hers, his own? Maybe he had his own agenda that involved her Emery had no idea about?

"Let go of me right now, Good." Colby growled, hissing out and was driven to his knees in front of his accomplice, dark eyes glaring up at him. "Y-You dare betray me for a WHORE like HER?"

" _You dare betray me_?" Jon echoed mockingly, shaking his head. "You sound like a bad novel, Lopez." He squeezed harder, just to watch Colby's teeth grit in obvious pain, taking in the infusion of color reddening the man's face. Jon knew he currently looked like a maniac with the way he was grinning, but... this was kind of comical. "Now, apologize to Killer or else."

"Apologize?" Colby gaped through the pain in his wrist. "To HER?"

"Yeah... it's the least you can do." Jon leaned forward, whispering loud enough for Colby and Emery to hear, but not the cameras. "Because everything you did, Dude Who Is Supposed to Be Dead, is on camera. You assaulting her, threatening her, everything..."

Emery would have a clean slate entirely. There would be nobody who could dispute what the footage would show. All those doubters would have to shove it and she would have her life back. She would no longer be the Murderess Who Got Away.

"You took 6 months of my life and made people believe I was capable of murdering a no good sorry son of a bitch like you. I wouldn't waste a bullet on the likes of you, Lopez. You're not good enough for a bullet."

Emery stood up from the bed warily, still not fully trusting Jon. Apparently the man had a change of heart. He was just as much as a whirlwind bipolar person as she was!

"And apologizing to me won't take away everything you've done to me over the years. So don't bother." She spat in his face, tilting her head as Jon applied more pressure to Colby's hand and heard one bone snap, then another. "Doesn't feel good to be betrayed by those you trust, does it?"

"You fucking CUNT!" Colby roared angrily, clenching his teeth to try to fight back the pain. He was tougher than people gave him credit for. "I'm gonna slit your throat MYSELF!"

Jon's eyes narrowed at that, wondering how much Emery wanted her reputation restored. She could live with a tarnished reputation. She didn't have to stay in Florida. Hell, after all this, he wouldn't be surprised if she disappeared off the radar and he never heard a peep out of her, which actually made his supposedly nonexistent heart clench painfully. However, if Colby somehow walked or was paroled down the line, she would be in danger all over again.

"Emery..." Her name came out of his mouth softly, gaining her attention over Colby's cursing. "Do you want to be safe or do you still care what the world thinks of you?"

Because if she went with safe, he'd snap Lopez's neck right here and now. Colby realized just what Jon meant when he felt his head being put in a lock, knowing just how strong Jon was. Struggling trying to get off his knees, Colby felt Jon use his weight as leverage to keep him remaining in the current position he was in. Here and now, she held Colby Lopez's life in the palm of her hand. Emery wasn't sure how to feel at the moment, but she was definitely vindicated. Either way, she was on her way out of Tampa and still planned on moving to Vegas. Whether Jon came with her or not was up in the air since he had chased her down, bringing her back here to be hurt by her ex-fiancé. The more she thought back to everything that happened, Jon hadn't laid a single finger on her besides grabbing her ankle to stop her from leaving the apartment.

"You'll never stop, Colby. You'll never leave me alone and…I can't keep looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to strike. You are despicable and heartless. You don't care about anyone or anything except yourself and your needs. I loved you once and you were the love of my life, but the moment you laid a hand on me and hurt and raped me, all that love turned into hatred. This world would be better off without you in it. So good riddance and enjoy your place in the farthest deepest depths of hell." Aqua eyes locked on murderous pale blue. "Safe."

A snap resonated around the room and Colby's body crashed to the floor at Emery's feet, his life ending for real this time. If ever there was someone who deserved to die, Colby Lopez was that person. Of course, Jon's hands weren't clean by any means, but he had killed to protect someone he loved twice so far and he'd do it again. He stepped over Colby's body, not bothering to look down and felt absolutely nothing for Colby anymore. Jon knew he had messed up majorly with Emery; everything that had happened today, his shady behavior over the past few weeks, she would never forgive him and that was probably how it should be.

So all he did, all he could do, was simply stand there staring at her, taking in the damage.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"You knew all along." Her eyes finally lifted to meet his, so many different emotions coursing through her. "Y-You brought me here accusing me of murdering someone who was alive all this time – a person I hate with every fiber of my being. You were working for him this whole time and I bet he ordered you to kill Donnie, didn't he? I bet he sent Donnie after me and you made the 'save' to gain my trust." All the pieces were finally falling into place and Emery didn't move toward or backward from him, staying right where she was. "So tell me why. And don't give me a sob story about being best friends. I wanna know why you changed your mind and betrayed him."

"Yes, I've been working with him all this time. I didn't – I didn't know anything about you really, when I first brought you here, Emery." That was no excuse, but he was sort of psycho; Jon had never denied that. "I killed Donnie because he tried to rape you. He put his hands on you. Colby had nothing to do with that." Colby didn't know Donnie had gone to her apartment; that's what happened when dealing with idiots. "I saved you because, at that point, I knew you and what you'd gone through..." He trailed off, knowing she didn't care, not blaming her. "I changed my mind because I love you."

There it was, flat out, simple and too late.

The words she longed to hear from his lips had finally come out and Emery had mixed feelings about it. Was he telling her the truth or was this another ruse? She watched him snap Colby's neck and demolish Donnie, so there was no coming back from that or faking it. The snap of his neck would be forever implanted in her memory and thoughts. At least Emery would sleep at night knowing Colby Lopez would never again bother her. And it was all because Jon loved her and changed his mind after all the evidence he 'found' or was given by Colby on what the pathetic dick did to her. She was insane to trust this man again or let him continue staying in her life. However, Emery had never claimed to be right in the mind and decided to follow her heart.

"Don't ever pull a stunt like this again, Jon." Then she stepped up to him and brought his chin down until their lips were mere inches from each other. "I love you too."

Jon was laughing and possibly crying, at the same, feeling relief coursing through him in waves. "Darlin', you – you're fucking insane."

She was, she really was, but that was a great thing because it meant he had her. Emery loved him and would eventually forgive him. She was just as crazy as he was and Jon enveloped her in his arms, holding her tightly against him.

"I'm sorry, Killer." He whispered, lips brushing her hair. "Christ... you don't know..." He had never ever felt guilt like this before. It was new, foreign and he didn't like it.

An hour later, Emery stood outside of the now burning house she'd been trapped in twice, holding Jon's hand with their fingers laced together. They had to get rid of all the evidence, including all the video recordings and Colby's body. What better way to do it than having one huge bonfire? Jon took care of the gasoline while Emery got to light the match, starting the inferno. The smell of burning wood, carpet, flesh and everything else permeated the air around them.

"How the hell are we supposed to explain all of this to Annalise and Joe? He's going to kill you for knocking him out and keeping him in the dark about this. Wait, they are still alive, right?" Emery looked up at him, hope her best friend and sister was still alive burning in her aqua eyes. "Jon?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I made sure to use just enough ether to give Annalise a nice nap. The tranquilizer should be wearing off by now since it was very light." Jon was prepared to face whatever wrath the Samoan planned dishing out, not afraid of anything. "I also whispered to Annalise while knocking her out to trust me. So I'm sure she'll remember that and demand to know happened."

Emery continued staring at the raging flames deep in thought about everything that transpired on this night and over the past few months. "We need to leave them behind."

It was Jon's turn to raise a questioning brow. "Come again?"

Aqua eyes moved from the flames to stare back at him, tears brimming the lids. "I've put Anna through so much this year. And taken up so much of her time and life. She's finally happy with Joe and…I don't wanna give her anymore problems. I know she doesn't want to go to Vegas and her heart was set on Pensacola. We need to give them their best chance at happiness. We need to go to Vegas alone and start over without any connections."

Emery made a lot of sense and Jon had a hard time disputing anything she said, agreeing with all of it. Joe had given up his own life in Pensacola to come to Tampa, thinking he was helping Jon track down Colby's killer, when he was working for their friend all along. The Samoan would never forgive his deception or forcing him to commit a kidnapping that never had to happen. Or knowing Colby had been alive all this time, both deciding Joe was too good of a man to stain his hands with blood and filth.

"Now do what you promised and take me away from here."

"After this fire burns down and I start it all over again." Jon snorted, knowing forensics in this day and age were great at their job. Not a great thing when one didn't want to be caught. "We have to get rid of the truck..."

He had no problem in disappearing and starting over, though Vegas might've been a bit obvious. Joe and Annalise would come hunting them up someday. Of course, Joe would beat his ass and rightfully so. He wrapped his arm around her, smiling slightly at the impatient look on Emery's face.

"You ready to start over, Killer? Just you and me?"

Nodding, Emery brought Jon's mouth down on hers and softly kissed him, jumping in his arms to wrap her legs around his waist.

* * *

Rubbing her protruding pregnant belly gently, Annalise stared down at the gravestone with her best friend's name etched in it. Emery Rose Colfax. She still couldn't believe it'd been 4 years since Emery's untimely death along with Jon's. Joe had a hard time getting over it and still thought about him, mentioning his brother every once in a while. They were both buried in Tampa, a cemetery on the outskirts of the city where it was peaceful. That's all Emery ever wanted was peace in her life and death was the only way to receive it. Today marked the 4 year anniversary of their deaths and, with powerful hormones piercing through her, Annalise shed tears over Emery's grave.

"Hey Emmy." She sniffled softly, pulling out a piece of paper she'd jotted some thoughts down on and clutched it tightly in her hands. "So, this probably isn't a surprise to you, but that Samoan idiot husband of mine knocked me up again. Can you believe it? I told him to use a condom and, of course, he didn't listen thinking we'd be safe not using protection one time. You would think after the first 2 kids we've had, he'd get the message." Shaking her head, Annalise chuckled a little trying to lighten the mood, but a frown quickly slid across her face. "I miss you so much, girl. I don't know what to do without you in my life. Joe is lost without Jon too, even though it's been 4 years. God, 4 years and we'll be having 3 kids in a couple months. Hard to believe how fast time has gone by. But I just wanted to come and tell you I'm always thinking about you and the good times we had together. I know you think you were a burden to me, but you weren't. Neither was Jon. We loved you both and wanted to be roomies with you guys in Vegas more than anything. I guess life doesn't work out the way you want it sometimes though, huh? But even though we're worlds apart from each other, I'll never forget you and I will make sure our children know who their brave Auntie Emmy and Uncle Jonny was. I promise. I love you, Emmy, always."

Setting a bouquet of white lilies on the grave, Annalise turned and reluctantly headed back to the car waiting for her. Joe stood leaning against it with his arms folded and immediately enveloped his sobbing wife in his arms, tears of his own stinging his eyes. It was always hard this time of year for both of them, but luckily the kids helped soothe their sorrows and heartache. The third bundle of joy would be making an appearance in 2 months and Joe felt truly blessed having the family and wife he always wanted. He just wished Jon could be here to experience his happiness along with Emery.

"Ready to head back home, baby girl?" Joe asked quietly, rubbing Annalise's back and kissed the top of her head, needing to stay strong for both of them.

All Annalise could do was nod, letting her husband help her into the passenger seat and looked back at Emery's grave briefly, hoping wherever her best friend was she was resting in peace.

* * *

Faking their death was the only way for a clean break and zero connections.

The shack fire was their ticket out, both Emery and Jon never looking back. They left behind one article of clothing each, making sure pieces of it were burned to make it look like they'd been in the fire. Annalise and Joe weeping and mourning over them hurt Emery and Jon to witness, but they had no choice if they wanted their friends to have the life they deserved. It was Emery's ultimate decision to go through with the plan, the final plan, knowing Annalise would be alright without her. She had Joe to help her through the pain of losing her best friend. It wasn't easy by any means to walk away from their best friends and make them think they were dead, but again neither regretted the decision.

Jon wanted to go somewhere warm, hating the cold, so the Midwest was out of the question for their fresh start. They decided on Arizona, living in a small house with the ocean in their backyard. Changing their last names hadn't been too hard, but expensive as hell. Luckily, Jon was Colby's inheritor and gave them enough funds to make a new life together alone, paying the house off in full and in cash. Now, they were Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Seabrook. Shortly after settling into their new home, Jon slipped a ring on Emery's finger and they went to a nearby chapel to make everything official. Both knew they were meant to be together and nothing would ever change that, even if they had a love/hate relationship.

Emery changed her hair color again, going back to being a honey blonde and let it grow out instead of keeping the pixie cut. Her husband was alright with the change and preferred her blonde anyway, missing the honey blonde tresses when she chopped them off and dyed 4 years ago. 4 years, had it really been that long already? Emery was the happiest she'd ever been with Jon, both enjoying being with each other, but also had their own hobbies to give enough space so they weren't driven insane. Jon claimed a job as a local truck driver, so he was home every night and Emery worked 9-to-5 at an insurance company as their secretary. Sometimes they were on the same schedule and sometimes they weren't, it just depended on how far Jon had to drive that particular day.

Pouring a glass of wine, Emery stepped out on the back deck Jon built 2 years ago and watched the sun set on the horizon, breathing in the fresh ocean air. Annalise would've loved it here since it was always warm and reminded her quite a bit of Tampa. Hell, she was in Pensacola, living on the ocean and had 2 spawns to look after. No way she was bored or mourned over Emery these days, not after 4 years. Jon kept tabs on Joe and Annalise for Emery's peace of mind, having a very close friend in Pensacola he trusted explicitly to keep their secret. Emery trusted her husband's judgment and let him deal with it, doing her best to live her life as happily and peacefully as she could with the love of her life.

"I thought you finally came to your senses and ran off on me, Killer."

She smiled at the sound of her husband's voice behind her, looking over her shoulder at him shaking her head. "No such luck. Don't think I haven't thought about it though." Emery teased, sipping some of her wine and felt Jon's arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Oh really? And just where would you go without me?" Jon nuzzled her throat with his mouth and lips, pressing a soft kiss to the pulse point.

"No idea, I'd figure it out though." Emery sighed out, chewing her bottom lip and set her glass of wine down on the ledge before turning around, melting into her husband's arms. "It's been 4 years, you know…"

Jon pulled back from her to stare down in guilt-ridden aqua eyes and sighed softly, caressing her face with the back of his hand. "Yeah, you miss them still?"

"Of course I do, don't you?" Emery slid her fingers up and down his muscular bare chest, wrapping her arms around his waist needing a comforting hug. "Sometimes I feel like we're worlds apart from them and, in a way, we are."

"True." There was no point denying it and Jon wouldn't try, stroking Emery's honey blonde hair affectionately. "Remember why we did it though, darlin'?"

"To give them a better life. To take the drama and pain away, so they could be happy." Emery mumbled against his chest and pulled away, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. "I just wonder if we made the right decision being worlds apart from them."

Sitting down on the wooden porch steps, Jon pulled out a cigarette and fired the tip with a lighter, letting the nicotine filter through his system. "Well think about it, Killer, we started out being worlds apart and now look where we are." He glanced over at her when she joined him on the steps, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and took another drag. "We did the right thing. They're better off without us. I thought you wanted it to be just the two of us anyway? Having a change of heart?"

Emery shook her head, leaning up to soft kiss his lips after he pulled the cigarette away and didn't regret her decision to run away with Jon. "Never. I love being worlds apart with you." And she wouldn't have it any other way.

They were right where they needed to be and that was all that truly mattered.

The End.

 ****Big - BIG thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story. It was never meant to be long and if you feel the ending was abrupt, it was meant to be written that way. This idea was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but I managed to stretch it out into a decent story. Love you all and hope you stick around for my new stories coming up!****


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